Being Feminine
by Kelliska
Summary: What happens when you mistake a boy for a girl? A terrible experience, especially if the boy is none other than the sadistic tensai, Fuji Syuusuke. Remember: What Fuji wants, Fuji gets. And she's not an exeption. FujixOC
1. Mornings: Hapiness? Loneliness?

**Author Notes**

Sorry for bothering you... My first story, so I don't really know what to write here. rolls eyes

This story is FujixOC, don't like OCs, don't read.

Constructive criticism is more than welcome.

Oh, right! I will only say it once, though.** I don't own The prince of Tennis.**

Now, onto The Story...

That was her first day at new school in new city. Tokyo was always exotic to her in all means. Culture, language, food, and so on. She loved everything that came from Tokyo, was made in Tokyo... It was her obsession. It's rather obvious that when she heard she was moving to the capital she had no complaints whatsoever. The girl was a bit worried about leaving her friends behind, but there was nothing she could do – she couldn't just _bring_ them with her... or could she? She tried, at least.

**Flashback**

"But Mom, I can't leave them!" she shouted desperately, clinging to her Mother's arm.

"Stop it. Now be a good girl and quit molesting that poor blouse, I like it very much and the sight of it in trash bin would make me mad." Mother jerked her arm away from the daughter. "It is either you leave them, or stay here."

The girl pouted at that.

"No, no, no! I don't like this. Oh well, I can always call them for sleepover on holidays, right?" she sighted.

Mother was surprised at how quickly she gave up.

"I guess so," she murmured quietly. "Now, let's go pack!"

**End of Flashback**

The girl was sitting on her new bed, looking around her room. It wasn't spacious, but she liked it more that way. It resembled her the previous room. The walls were painted in blue-beige colors, with a single flower every now and then. On the desk there lye humongous pile made of paper, books, CDs, and paints. Next to the lamp stood high flower, or maybe very small tree? The girl didn't know herself, for now she will keep it in flower pot. There were also other flowers on the windowsill and beside the bed. The only painting covered the whole side of the wall. It was a present from her friends from Nagoya.

"Kanon! If you're done with unpacking then come eat breakfast!" Came Mothers voice through thick walls.

_'Good idea, I'm already really hungry'_ smiled the girl gently. She put her feet into the fluffy, cat-shaped slippers and went down to the kitchen. There waited for her warm Eastern breakfast and her family. Father was being a stereotypical father, reading a newspaper with a coffee in his hand. Mother, being a ideal mother, was making lunches. Kanon seated herself in front of her father, waiting patiently for a command to start eating.

The perfect image of a perfect family didn't last long, though.

_BURRRG_

The silence was disturbed by the loud sound coming from Kanon's stomach. Knowing she couldn't restrain herself from eating anymore, the girl just grabbed the cutlery and started devouring her meal. At the same time, there was a short _BUM_ heard from the microwave.

"I quit! I quit cooking!" shrieked Mother, tearing the newspaper out of Father's grasp. It was still on the first page. Father quickly got to the microwave and made the smoke end. Then he finished preparing their lunches in mere ten minutes.

Father does the Mother things, Mother does the Father things. Oh, what a crap.

_'At least I'm normal,'_ thought Kanon happily finishing breakfast. She stood up and collected the plates.

Her parents looked at her terrified.

"Leave it, honey, I will do the washing up." Smiled Father nervously.

"Don't worry, I will repair whatever needs to be repaired," giggled Mother, "and I wonder what and how quickly will break _this time_."

"You're cruel! I can do it..."

And then she fell.

"Obviously you can't, since you're not even able to stand up for more tan few seconds," mused Mother with amusement.

"I'm going!" shouted Kanon walking out of house. She felt a bit nervous.

"Take care! Be careful on your way and don't get in trouble" demanded Father, stopping with his chores (cleaning floor at the moment).

"Yeah, and try to get along with the boys, too!" smiled Mother, and added, seeing her Daughter shiver "not every male specie is an evil being."

"I know..." muttered Kanon, feeling a little down about her phobia. She closed the door as she walked outside.

'It's not my fault I'm scared of boys!

**Being Feminine Being Feminine Being Feminine Being Feminine Being Feminine Being Feminine **

He woke up before the alarm-clock.

'Why do I bother with tuning it anyway?'

Stretching his arms, he smiled at the new day at the other side of window. Before clothing he welcomed every one of other inhabitants of the room. He haven't received any reply, but it didn't matter. It was always like that and he just iknew /i they appreciated his attention.

Down, there waited for him breakfast in the kitchen and a note.

_Syuusuke,_

_today I was the one who prepared both breakfast and lunch for you (because mom had overslept; unbelievable, isn't it?) – so expect a lot of wasabi. Yuuta is coming over for supper, so banzai!, and clean a little in his room before his arrival, 'kay? I will be late today again. On the table lies money for your dinner, just in case you would change your mind and want to order something (pizza?) Haha, as if! When I come back I will pester you about my work, so be prepared!_

_With lots of Love,_

_Yumiko._

"That Nee-san..." chuckled the boy, hiding money into his wallet.

He was used to the loneliness on mornings, especially after Yuuta transferred to St. Rudolph. He was used to it, but the silence still scared him in some way. What if his parent – and Yumiko-nee – decided to move, too? Is he bound to be alone? Why is he scaring away everyone he cared about?

The clock shook him out of his thoughts.

"Saa... It's time for morning practice." he smiled again, placing his mask back on his face.

Syuusuke packed his books and picked up the bag. _'Too heavy... I will just leave some unimportant things.'_

After a few packings and unpackings, he left home.

"Ittekimasu..." echoed through the empty rooms.


	2. To School: Uneasiness Finding yourself

**Author Notes:**

Okay, that was a bit rushed... But tomorrow I'm going to Norway and I wanted to leave sth here :)

Today it's a bit more about our dear Fuji.

Still un-betaed, I will search for one when I come back - which is on 9th August. Three weeks...

Thank you Silverrowanraven for your review, I really enjoyed it. Of course I will continue! And English isn't my first language (easy to guess, huh?), and the longer I learn it, the harder it gets. I will correct both chapters when I come back.

Hope you like it:)

**Being Feminine**

**Chapter 2**

It was really hot and Kanon kept cursing herself for her stupidity.

_'I knew it was going to be extremely hot, so why did I took the jumper?'_ she sighed. Her breath has spread and she wondered why was Tokyo such a calm and quiet city in the mornings? Capital should be more... dynamic, she guess. Only few cars passed her and the only people she met were some old lady with her dog, nice man from that vegetable shop and students. Japanese people really take their work seriously, even from young age. Besides, why were lessons starting so early? It's unforgivable! There **are** students that want to sleep longer and don't care much about grades... Kanon as the very example. Though it's not something to be actually proud of, is it?

As the girl draw nearer the school, the more students kept coming her way.

_'Why are there so many of them? Did I understand Mother wrong? But I'm pretty sure lessons start at 9...'_ Kanon got a little nervous. What were they doing here?

Then she heard balls pouncing on the tennis courts on her left, followed by the screams from a soccer ground. Then she realized... Morning practice! Relief overwhelmed her, as she finally calmed.

_'And I thought I would be the first one here!' _she chuckled quietly and headed to the school office. Trying to look elegantly, she tripped over some rock and fell with a loud scream.

_'So much for wanting to make a good entrance and gain attention.' _thought the unfortunate girl bitterly. She could hear some of the students giggle or even laugh openly at her. Seeing as they wanted to help her get up, she quickly stood up and ran off to the school building. _'As if I want attention of that kind! Oh, God...'_

Ten minutes and a few downfalls later, Kanon found herself in front of door with the 'Head Office' sign. She knocked and heard "Come in!". So she entered.

**Being Feminine Being Feminine Being Feminine Being Feminine Being Feminine Being Feminine **

It was really hot, so Syuusuke unbuttoned his uniform. He liked how calm it was in the mornig. He would walk slowly, greeting neighbors and familiar shopkeepers. Sometimes he would take his camera along and sparing few minutes to take pictures. Mostly of nature, but he didn't mind if some people got caught in the process. It was amusing to see those usually serious workers with yawning or making funny faces. Sometimes he would stop at the flower shop, watching new delivery of cacti (of course he always ends up buying some after school). At some point he would hear familiar 'Fujiko!!' and wait for the redhead to catch up with him...

"Fujiko!!" Syuusuke smiled at his best friend, who was waving at him with such speed that the outline of his hand was fuzzy. "It's so hot, nya! Think Tezuka will spare us?"

Syuusuke just chuckled at his friend's naivety.

"No way. If you ask him, he will give you even more laps... with Inui's juice as the reward for your hard work."

"Nyadda!" Eiji mimicked their freshman in his own fashion.

Then, after some more walking, they would hear

"Good morning, senpai-tachi!"

"Uissu."

and the said freshman with his best friend Momo would pass them on a bike.

"Morning Momo, Echizen."

"Mooorning, Ochibi! Hey, wait for your senpais!" Eiji tries to catch up with them. And he succeeds, even though they ride a bike. Of course he does, that's Seigaku's acrobatics player after all.

And Syuusuke would walk slowly, not bothering with the loneliness because he knows he will meet another friend just a few more steps ahead...

"Ah, Fujiko! Good morning," says Taka-san, smiling shyly. Liking new presence in his surroundings, Syuusuke smiles his rare true smile.

"Helping father again, Taka-san?"

"Yeah..."scratches his head Takashi with a sheepish grin. "It's hard to bring together tennis and taking care of our shop, but I just can't resign from any."

"Of course. And we're happy to have you with us again. You and Echizen."

"That's right, he just starts Seishun High, doesn't he?"

"Yes, it will be fun again. All of us will reunite."

There is a moment of comfortable silence. Takashi thinks a bit and says gently "You're resigning from the Photography Club, right? Is it the right decision?"

"... I guess." Syuusuke can't find the right words. Maybe some day he will explain it to them...

They would walk in silence again until they meet Tezuka and Oishi at the front gates. Short greetings, question if everything is alright from Oishi.

"Oishi!!" the redhead bounces to his doubles partner happily, babbling about new toothpaste his sister bought for him and some unique formation he learned recently that they could practice later...

Inuiwas already on the courts, mumbling to himself and scribbling in his notebook.

"Yo," he greets his friend and buries his nose in the Notebook-To-Fear again. "Kaidoh, you should increase number of your laps by 12,01"

"Yes, senpai" came from the snake boy, who was running around the courts. "Good morning, senpais." A short bow.

There is no place for loneliness, that's for sure. And Syuusuke knows his place belongs here, where so many people are fond of him. The crowd is so big, you could get lost yourself in this mixture of different personalities. But even though no one pays attention to you now, it will change in few seconds. Because they acknowledge you. Because they won't forget about you...

It's funny. How do they endure with him and his sadistic antics? How can they keep up with Tezuka's orders? Why no one bothers with Echizen's arrogance? Why Inui is still alive? How come Kaidoh and Momo aren't kept on leash? Why aren't they fed up with Oishi's worrying? How is it possible to be near Burning-Taka-san for more than five minutes? Why nobody stops Eiji from glomping on others?

They like each other, that's why. Simple.

"Let's start practice!" orders Tezuka.

The usual morning that will never change.

And that's what Syuusuke liked about it the most.


	3. Classes: To Hell With Them!

**Author Notes:**

I AM REALLY, REALLY SORRY!

Yeah, and that's practically it.

Still no Beta, even I hadn't re-read it, sorry.

Thank you all for reviewing, and so on. Well, I thanked "a little" off-handedly, but I have no time. It's funny how I have no time when I have holidays and no time when I have school. I promise I will try harder...

**Being Feminine**

**Chapter 3**

_'This is ridiculous!'_ thought Kanon.

She was standing in front of her new classroom. It was rather noisy inside, which usually meant naughty and loud classmates. And the teacher didn't seem like a one with lots of self-confidence, since she couldn't calm the class down.

Right now Kanon waited to be called. Thankfully, she didn't feel nervous. Not at all. Her hands weren't shaking. Her heart wasn't beating so fast it could come out at any moment. After all, it was just her first meeting with new faces. So what if she had to spend at least one year with them? So what if first appearances actually did matter?

She wasn't scared at all.

"Come in!"

Suppressing the squeak that wanted to escape, Kanon almost turned around and ran away...

Almost.

"Hora, what are you doing? Come on in!" the teacher appeared before her, preventing from escaping.

_'Running away, Kanon. Running away. At least have the courage to name it properly.'_

She followed after her new homeroom sensei. She was an old damn hag who doesn't give a shit about her students well-being... wait, that's just your imagination, you vengeful girl. The teacher was old, sure, but surely she cared about her pupils, seeing as the two of them was beating the crap out of each other... wait again, that doesn't testifies in her favor...

Let's just go to the description of the old ha-tfu!- teacher or else we won't be done by the end of this chapter. Pull yourself together, girl!

So –don't ever start sentences with 'so's!- the teacher, with unknown name (for the moment), was a middle-aged... no, that would be rude to all middle-aged women. The teacher was a not-middle-aged-but-also-not-that-old-to-be-called-old woman wearing pink jersey... _'This is ridiculous! What teacher wears jersey during their work-time?! And pink! Why is it pink?!'_ Let's say purple jersey, for the greater good. Her long hair was kept in high ponytail. And she surely didn't look like someone who would let others get on her head, so why was it so loud?

Simple. She didn't care... Probably. Let's not jump to conclusions!

"Everyone! Come on, cut it out! We have a transfer student, didn't I tell you about that already? Don't scare her off on just first day!"

Right. She didn't care...

Everyone was staring at Kanon, or so she thought. Counting the number of girls, and the number of boys... _'Shit! Why the hell three fourth of the class are boys?! They want me dead from fright or what?! This is ridiculous!'_ Feeling the need to run away Kanon turned around...

"Well, why don't you introduce yourself?"

Ah, it makes you feel so good when your perfect plan is ruined...

NOT.

"I'm Takahashi Kanon, sixteen years old. I've arrived in Tokyo just yesterday from Nagoya. My most hated subject is Math. There's no favourite one. I like cats and paining, though I'm not good at it. Nice to meet you!" Kanon ended her short speech with a sneeze. Laughter and occasional "Bless you!"s could be heard in the class.

"There is a free seat by the window, unfortunately it's in the first row. You can seat here" said the-teacher-with-yet-unknown-name, earning another three minutes of laugh from students. "I'm Ryuuzaki Sumire, your class master, Math teacher – nice to know you like it – and also tennis club's coach. Let me know if you have problems or need something.

Kanon followed teachers request wondering who was stupid enough to abandon such a great seat. Sure, it was in the front row, but to hell with it! The view from the window was just great... Well, if you forget about the sweaty, disgusting creatures named boys having PE period. Just her luck. Couldn't it be girls? Still, it was spring, and the school grounds had a great number of sakura trees. Let's just forget about boys.

"What did you say, Viper?!"

But how to do it if one of them shouts his lungs off in the same room?

_'Wait, could he be the source of the noise before?'_

"Just what you heard, Peach-head!" Make it two. The two boys stood up and grabbed their shirts by the collar. Just what the shirts did wrong, I wonder...?

The teacher, no wait, we already know the name, Ryuuzaki-sensei, just sighted loudly before telling them to shut up and letting her do her job. There was also something about 'unimaginable amount of laps', mixed with 'Tezuka' and 'Inui with his juices', but Kanon didn't understand it too much. What was wrong with juices to make the boys shudder and calm down, she didn't know. Yet. Nobody was impressed so the girl assumed correctly that this was routine.

"It's more than routine," the girl sitting behind Kanon answered her thoughts. But how could she do that? She's not a mind-reader, is she? But Kanon was sure she didn't say it out loud...

"This is like breathing for them. But we will talk later, Ryuuzaki-chan is harmless only when she's not angered." Kanon felt relieved. All her worries faded away, there's nothing scaryanymore, she made friend, although she is weird, but she can't read minds, of course, that was just a coincidence...

"Oh, and I'm not a mind reader."

Damn it. Let's just all bang our head on the desk, 'kay?

Now, to explore the school while the corridors are empty...

"Sensei, I need to go to the nurse. I'm feeling unwell."

"Already? Well, nothing to do about it. Go, just don;t wander around too much, or you might get caught" Ryuuzaki-sensei winked at shocked Kanon. _'Wow, this woman knows her job!'_

**Being Feminine Being Feminine Being Feminine Being Feminine Being Feminine Being Feminine Being Feminine **

It was boring. Boring the hell out of Syuusuke, but he promised Oishi he will not skip classes...

_'I really liked Eiji as a classmate, his reactions were priceless. And he covered for me. And he encouraged me with my tortu- plays with teachers. So why did you place me with Oishi this year, you traitor?'_ called the genius to Kami-sama. Well, apparently he's not in his favour anymore, especially seeing as he transferred certain girl to this scho- wait, let's not spoil the fun. But really, what is the purpose in going to school unprepared?

"Fuji-kun, where are your books? And notebook, at least?" asked teacher with a frown.

"Well, obviously they are not here..." looking up at the more frowning face, he added "but I guess that's not what you want to hear...?"

"Obviously not. Fuji-kun, I know you are, to say the least, unbelievably smart, but the school rules apply to you in the same way they do to any other student. Where are your books?"

"I think it's not smart to ask stupid questions, or you will get equally stupid answer, sensei. Or none at all." That's right. Why did he have to bring books, if he already knew the material? There's just no point. By the way, the teachers should be grateful to his friends and tennis, after all they are the only reason he comes to school...

The frown at the teacher's face deepened. Something was getting wrong with Fuji lately, and nobody could do a thing about it. Well, save the regulars, but with them around, he acted normally.

_'Do you think I should place him next to Oishi, Miki-chin?'_

He observed as Fuji calmed Oishi (who was sitting in completely other end of the classroom). The chicken-haired boy was such a good friend, he even wanted to give Fuji his books and get the scolding himself...

"Fuji, go to your class master. Now."

Syuusuke got up, took his bag and headed to the door.

"And where are you taking your bag? You're going to class master, not home!"

The boy didn't look back even once. _'Too bad for you, sensei... school rules don't apply to me anymore. And I'm not smart, don't insult me. I'm a genius. Don't forget that...'_

Walking through the empty corridor, he felt as if he was home. Knowing they are there, his friend, family, somewhere close, but he was still alone and couldn't get to them. Not a feeling of loneliness, not quite... He is not lonely, he is... What? Lonely-at-the-moment? Syuusuke snorted at his own stupidity. _' I guess even genii has their idiotic moments.'_

"Hello, Ishijima-sensei."

Besides, his loneliness ended when he opened the door.

"Fuji, what are you doing here?" then the teacher noticed the note in Fuji's hand. "Again? My fellow teachers have been sending you to me a lot lately, haven't they? What is it this time? Oh, you offended Kurosaki. Good job, I don't like him. Still, you have to stay. I'm going to talk to you after the lesson." Ishijima-sensei showed him a free seat at the end of the classroom. He was spending a lot of time here lately...

When he found his seat, he looked around the class for some familiars. Some redheads here and then, tall and small... Wait, small?

"Echizen!" Fuji flashed a smile to his friend. "How could I not notice you before?"

"I don't know that too, since I'm sitting right in front of you, senpai. Can you please stop with height jokes? They are not funny," said the once-again-freshman, rolling his eyes.

True. Especially that the tennis prodigy wasn't small at all. Not anymore ("I'm going to cry! What with the teasing jokes I had prepared for you for the next three years?" - Fuji at the opening ceremony). Inui's milk paid off. Wonder what he put there, beside the normal milk? Echizen was so tall now that he was seated at the back of the class because of it. The boy wonder watched his senpai for a while, then with a smile (not smirk) of his own turned to face Fuji. Strange that after to years of separation the regulars grew even more fond of him.

"What about the lesson?" asked Syuusuke, already knowing the answer. It was English, after all.

"Screw the lesson. It's English, after all. By the way, aren't I just taking example of you?"

"Well..."

"Fuji! No, Echizen! No, both! I can;t believe you two, how can you sit with your back to me?"

"But I'm sitting with my front..."

"Don't say it like that, it sounds just wrong, Fuji-senpai..."

"I meant Echizen! And you, Fuji! Go stand outside!"

"Haai" came the bored reply from the boys. Syuusuke left the classroom, cursing this damn Math teacher...

No, wait. There is someone better to curse... Even though he is a treasured friend.

_'Damn that Oishi. If I have only skipped classes..._

**Omake**

Kurosaki-sensei sat down after the unfortunate lesson with the tensai Fuji Syuusuke. He looked at his desk, wondering... and wondering... and wondering...

...

...

and wondering...

"Ne, Miki-chin... what should I do about this rebellious teen?"

...

...

But the fluffy, yellow plush-deer had no reply.


	4. Fateful Meeting: The First Encounter

**Author Note**

Hello Guys, it's me here ^^'

Sorry for the late update... It's not finished, I still need to re-read it and correct the mistakes. It's written in a rush, sorry!

Thank You for all the reviews!

Now, Ta-dam!!!

**Being Feminine**

**Chapter 4**

Syuusuke stood in the corridor and stood, and stood...

And stood. He was getting bored. No, that is not possible, since he he had been bored from the beginning of the lessons. For the past few minutes he has been thinking if it would be fair to lure the boy wonder from the classroom... Oh yes, it was a tempting thought. **Very **tempting and Syuusuke would have probably started carrying out his not-yet-formed plan (improvisation was always his thing) if not one girl... And after her, the other.

It was because he had been careless. Fine, he will punish himself by actually listening to Tezuka for once. Let's say, until he hears at least thirty two 'Yudan sezu ni ikou!'s. You want to ask how the number thirty two came to his mind?

_'Why, of course because the sum of my and Ryoma's age is thirty two! What a stupid question!'_

Yuuta certainly has been regretting rejecting Syuusuke's brotherly love. Ryoma, on the other hand, was delighted (only in Fuji's view). But next time he will meet with his newly made otōto he won't get caught!

He was so bored...

Suddenly Syuusuke heard footsteps. They were light and carefully planned, giving ojō-sama-like feeling. It seemed he wasn't the only one cutting classes. Unless it's a teacher, but that didn't really matter, Fuji was good at dealing with them.

The footsteps were getting closer.

But the one who appeared from behind the corner wasn't a teacher, it was a freshman girl. She looked a bit like a foreigner, with her blond hair and green... or were they turquoise eyes? The atmosphere around her was tense and cold. Her height would match with that of Ryoma, but in middle school. Now, he has grown up.

_'Puberty,'_ he could hear his kōhai's ever-bored voice.

Syuusuke watched the girl come closer to him, pass him without a single glance. That's when he realized who the girl was. Kai Sayuki. School's celebrity. Why wasn't she in the class, he didn't know. Well, not his business. Fuji wasn't the one to live the life of school, he was fine within his own, small world, which consisted of friends, family and hobbies. Besides he always could ask Inui, their private alive-form-of-information-of-all-kind. After the girl disappeared from our genius' sight, he resumed carrying out the plan of getting Ryoma out of classroom.

Once again, he was interrupted. He could hear some other footsteps. They also were light, almost as light as Kai Sayukis', but more insecure. This time it was a student for sure, probably another freshman girl, hearing as she wasn't used to school.

_'Interesting.' _Syuusuke opened his eyes on the thought that he might get to use his (scary) skills. _'No, bad Fuji! You shouldn't frighten newcomers, only few people know about your antics!' _he scolded himself.

The girl was coming closer so Syuusuke quickly closed his eyes and plastered the nicest, but at the same time the most fake smile he could produce. The girl looked small, a freshman girl indeed. She had brown straight hair with a fringe. Her head was going from left to right and from right to left nonstop. She looked curious of everything, as if she was sightseeing? Unbelievable.

_'Oh,'_ he noticed and being a genius he was, Syuusuke calculated what was going to happen. Preparing for the coming, he held out his arms towards the girl, putting pose catching-the-girl and waited. He could guess what she was thinking, mostly something like _"What is that guy doing?! Is he nuts?"._ Ah, her face was priceless.

**BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE **

School was so big. Kanon was just wandering around school. Looking mostly outside the windows. School looked the same everywhere. The same stairs, the same corridors...

She stopped. In front of her was standing one of the most beautiful girls she ever saw. Blond hair, turquoise eyes and her posture looked like that of young ojō.

_'There are girls like that? Unbelievable.'_

It wouldn't hurt to talk to her, after all she was new and needed to make friends.

"Ano... I'm sorry..." she started.

The blond girl turned around to face Kanon, but her eyes told "Go away!". Kanon lost her voice for a moment and the girl walked away.

_'God, that was rude!'_ Kanon decided to go after her, but it seemed impossible to catch up. The girl was too fast without even running. Kanon stopped from meaningless chase and restarted her tour around the school. She took the corner and saw a girl.

_'What is that girl doing?! Is she nuts?'_ came through Kanon's mind. Really, that senior girl looked as if she was going to catch her, but Kanon wasn't even thinking of tripping right now!

_'Wait, you **never** plan tripping, it just happens, stupid!'_

Kanon noticed a bucket on her way, with a broom leaning on the wall next to it.

_'Does she think I'm going to trip over the bucket when I have already seen it?'_

Well, now she was prepared. It was not like she would trip over something she was avoiding, right?

"Ouch!" she closed her eyes from pain as her foot landed improperly, making her knock over the bucket onto the senpai, while falling right into her arms. Immediately after she opened her eyes again Kanon released herself from senpais' arms. Her ankle was aching.

"I'm so sorry!" she quickly apologized, bowing down. "I didn't do it intentionally."

"I know, don't worry," chuckled senpai. "Besides, one needs to be prepared to face consequences."

Kanon was overwhelmed with awe and admiration. She was afraid senpai-tachi here would be like the ones from her former school – either bullies or ignorants, but right in front of her stood the proof that there **were **people filled with kindness, ready to help those in need.

"Anyway, I'm really sorry," she bowed again. "It was my fault. I will think about what to do with your wet uniform, for now we should go to the infirmary... um..." she looked around to find some sign that would tell her where the heck is the infirmary.

"It's this way. Let's go, we should also have the nurse look at your leg. It hurts, doesn't it?" Syuusuke said gently, wondering at the same time what could a freshman **girl **do about his uniform?

'Ah...' Kanon noticed the uniform her senpai was wearing was different from hers. It looked a lot like boy's.

"Senpai, why are you wearing boy's uniform?"

Syuusuke stopped in his tracks.

"Why, of course I'm wearing boy's uniform. What else should I wear?" he offered his hand to her so that she could lean on him to ease some pain from the aching leg.

"But aren't you a girl?"

Syuusuke didn't say anything, he was busy thanking Kami-sama that he actually hadn't lured Ryoma out of the classroom. Oh how hard would the boy wonder laugh... This time it would be him teasing Syuusuke and Fuji didn't like the thought of that.

He realized that the freshman girl still waited for the reply. He breathed deeply...

"Well, no actually I'm a boy."

Kanon was stunned and Syuusuke was still a bit messy inside, though she couldn't see it.

_'A... boy...' _

Without thinking she jerked her hand out of his. She couldn't stop herself from trembling. Suddenly the air became heavy and breathing was hard.

Syuusuke was surprised, that wasn't what he had expected. His genius mind for a moment wasn't able to apprehend what happened, but calmed down fast. He examined the girl's face. She was red, eyes opened wide and her breathing was discontinuous. She didn't look just shocked, it was more like she was frightened...

"Am I that nerve-racking?" Syuusuke smiled gently, trying to calm the girl.

Kanon forced herself to look at him and she saw the most beautiful smile. ' Is he really that scary?' she asked herself. Sure, he was a boy, but he looked so feminine... She had even mistaken him for a girl.

Kanon saw him offer his hand to her again. She remembered it was warm and delicate, it was impossible for him to hurt her with such fragile hands.

She put her hand slowly into his. She was on a good way to get rid of that phobia. Though her senpai was too girly to think of him as of a harmful beast the other boys are.

Syuusuke didn't know what to think. She had been scared of him in one moment and walking beside him in the second. He thought she was maybe afraid of boy, but that didn't seem to be the case. She wouldn't walk so comfortably next to him then. Unless she didn't even consider him as a boy...

"Um, I'm sorry, can you be my friend?"

"Pardon?"

"Well, I've never had a male friend, it would be great if I could get one. My parents would be happy too" she flashed a beaming smile at him.

"I thought you were afraid of men?" asked Syuusuke carefully.

"That's true, but it;s fine if it;s you, senpai. Since you don't really count as a boy," Kanon explained when she met his asking gaze.

All Fuji wanted to do was bang his head on the wall. He sighed again.

They reached the infirmary in silence.

The nurse quickly took care of Kanon's leg.

"Don't worry, it's not sprained. Just take things easy and try not to walk too much. It should be better after a few hours," she smiled at her and turned her attention to Syuusuke. "Now what do we have here?"

"Saa? You're the nurse here, Kyoko-san," chuckled Fuji.

"Stop calling me by my first name, I do deserve some respect, you know! Beside, from my point of view you are just fine... Well, save the wet problem."

"Oh, please, you don't need to say it that way, Kyoko-san. You will scare away my new friend."

At this Kanon's head shot up. She couldn't believe her ears. Just when she had lost all hope, it turned out he didn't mind being her friend. She was quite worried, he hadn't said a thing after her... um... proposition. She thought it was obvious he didn't care about her. What a surprise!

The nurse handed Syuusuke a pair of spare pants, pointing her finger to the curtain.

"You can change here. After that take your friend back to her class. Remember, no slacking off!"

**BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE **

"Well, what class are you in?" asked Syuusuke. "Because I need to know where I have to get you.

"Um... It's 2-B, I believe..." said Kanon shyly. That's no good, she shouldn't be so shy. He's her friend now, no need to be so formal! Get a grip, girl!

"2-B? I thought you were a freshman," blinked Syuusuke.

"What do you mean?" asked irritated Kanon. "It's not like I'm that childish!"

"If you say so... Fuji Syuusuke."

"Huh?" Kanon stopped, surprised. What was he saying?

"That's my name. It would be nice to introduce myself, don;t you think? What kind of person doesn't know his friend's name? Here, let me try again. Fuji Syuusuke, class 3-A."

"Takahashi Kanon, class 2-B," smiled Kanon, shaking Syuusuke's hand. "Nice to meet you, Fuji-senpai."


	5. Students: Cruelity Reigns Everywhere

**Author Notes **

Well, the usual: I'm sorry. But that's how I'm going to update it, I guess...

Thank you reviewers, as well as those who didn't review but read and added my story the their favourites and so on. It's really grat to know somebody reads it and wants more:)

Thank you!

**Being Feminine**

**Chapter 5**

It was really weird, that nobody would come to her unless she moved from her seat. As if they were scared? But if that was the case, then scared of what? Obviously not her, seeing how everybody clinged to her, squeezed her, tried to suffocate her while being all smiley-friendly... Of course there was not attempt at murder, they just wanted to get to know her, and it just so happened that there could be only five-six people on the first stage. Cat-fight's today's theme: Get the closest you can to the transfer girl. That would mean they were scared of the seat... would that make a sense, but it didn't. Unsolved mystery!

Lessons were a bit difficult, but not to the point of needing a tutor. That just meant the school was of a higher level, despite having sports as the main aim. Teachers were mostly kind, though demanding. They offered to help Kanon if she needed help, as long as it wouldn't collide with the School Law. Yes, School Law with capital letter, simply because it's Law that had to be kept, even more than the country law.

In order to escape the accidental death from new classmates, Kanon had been sitting in her desk all breaks through until time for lunch came. Before anybody could go closer than 5 meters to her, the girl ran down the hall to find some quiet place to eat. Apart from people from her class nobody really knew that _she _was the transfer student. One thing to be happy for, at least nobody bugged her.

Kanon found herself outside the school building. The school yard was really big and pretty, with lots of trees and a few little gardens and flower beds. The lawn was a perfect place for students to rest before next lesson. The school had taken a lot of effort to become a place everyone would like to go to and students really appreciated it.

"Takahashi-san! Here you are!" Kanon turned her head to the direction from which the voice had called her. She saw three of her classmates, with bright shiny smiles and sparkling background...

"Takahashi-saan~..." Their kind faces changed to the blood-thirsty ones, oh my God, that was just her imagination, wasn't it?!

Not wanting to stay and see for herself (just in case it would be too late to run away) Kanon began her escape anew. She wasn't exactly the sporty type, she started to feel tired very quickly. But she needed to run, that one thing she knew, to not to stop, to find a place to hide,

**BURRG **_**(1),**_

to eat...

Seriously, it was going beyond a joke! Was there no safe place at _school_? Where were the teachers that offered to help her? Where was her Guardian Angel? And if we were already talking about divine powers...

"Kami-samaa~!!! Where the hell are You?!_(2)_" shouted Kanon up to the sky. She sighed, still looking up. Where to go... She was wondering about that problem, when suddenly she saw the school building. It certainly must be strange to notice the after all enormous building, but that was not! what caught her attention. Especially that she was still looking up (did I mention the stinging pain Kanon had started to feel in her neck?), there was only one part of the school that she could see...

The rooftop. She was doing a wild I-will-survive dance when another thought came to her mind... School Law. Would she break it? Of course not, not_ her. _First, she had just transferred here so she wouldn't want to cause trouble. Second, she was never the rebellious type, rather the opposite. There was no way she could go against her own conscience, right?

"Takahashi-san!" Her classmates were coming closer. Oh no! Should she break the rules, or get killed? But wait, there was _someone_ on the rooftop! The forbidden place... who would risk facing the consequences of ignoring The Law? Kanon had been in school for only few days, but she already knew – she will never, **ever** go to have a cup of tea in principal's office. And that was exactly one of the punishments. Nobody would risk it, was her answer. It must have been her imagination, for sure? But if it was, then why did she see that person again?! It was just a shadow, a play with light that passed really quickly, but there was somebody up there. Should she go?

"We've finally caught you, Takahashi-saan~..." A hand on her shoulder was creeping the crap out of her. And that was when her liveware broke down and the primeval instinct kicked in.

Kanon ran as fast as she could, as if her life depended on it... Oh, because it did, in some way. The door, the main hall, the stairs, and finally... the last door to Heaven...

It looked as if the light wanted to embrace Kanon, it was so bright she couldn't see for a moment, but she became used to it after a while, and... A beautiful view swept before her. A cold breeze grazed her face as she was watching the town. She could see her new home from here... Suddenly she remembered about the person that was supposed to be here also. Kanon looked around her, not thinking about the worst... But it came. She found the person, a freshman, a _boy._ She almost ran away. Forcing herself to sit, she watched as the younger boy was sleeping. He looked amazing, with a big aura of self-confidence surrounding him. His dark-green hair was scattered on the floor, the bag abandoned somewhere in the corner. An earring glittered in the rays of sun. Despite quite the cute and cool ('_How a mix like that is possible?'_) looks, Kanon could feel get-away-from-me vibes. He qualifies as dangerous._(3)_

"What are you doing here?" She felt him glare.

"Well, it's not your property, right? I can be there if I want" saying that bluntly, she didn't feel confident. At all. Actually, she was scared... She was talking to a boy. A boy! "Weren't you sleeping?"

"You can't, it's forbidden to be here. You must be really stupid, nobody disobeys the Law." He ignored her question, which was pretty frustrating. She had to calm down, or he would attack her... Why couldn't she just melt or become one with the wall she had tried to drive herself into?

"Actually, I'm new here" _'So please be nice and don't eat me alive...' _"so the consequences for me won't be that big." '_Bullshit.'_

"Oh really. I think you just wanted to run away from the too enthusiastic students," smirked the boy, as the cries and echo of her classmates' 'Takahashi-saan!' could be heard.

_'Why you little...'_

"So you're **the** Takahashi Kanon, huh?"

"Ha?" The girl blinked. How did he...

"You have it written on your bag, stupid."

_'Please go back to sleep.'_

"Pretty weird name, don't you want to change it?"

_'Whatever just go back to sleep.'_

"Besides why are you sulking in a corner?"

_'You're annoying me. I told you to go back to sleep, didn't I?'_

"That's what has woken me up."

_'I don't care anymore, just leave me alone!'_

**RIING**

"Oh, that's the school bell. The lesson is starting. Well then, see you later." The boy got up, took his bag and left the rooftop and the shocked girl.

"I will never cross him again..."

**BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE **

"I will never cross him again..." Ryoma smirked under his nose as he descended the stairs. That was what he wanted to hear the most. Acting out of character wasn't that bad after all.

_'Mission of daunting the new girl to myself: complete.'_

**BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE **

The last few days were really exhausting for Syuusuke. Though there was actually one positive thing – the teachers left him alone after they got reprimanded by the principal. It was a good thing the principal was an old friend of his parents.

_'It's the survival of the fittest, sensei-tachi.'_

"Nyaa~n!"

"Out! Seven games to five, Fuji wins!"

"That's too bad, Eiji" smiled Syuusuke at his friend.

"What are you talking about, Fujiko! I just gave you a handicap! Hehe~!"

As usual after lessons there was tennis practice. Something Syuusuke actually enjoyed doing a lot, especially with people he considered as a family. They trained hard every day, but...

"Did you hear about the transfer student?"

"He was supposed to come five days ago, has anyone seen him?"

...it was more of a gossip club.

"Transfer student? I know about it!" waved Momo his racket to get attention.

"Don't be so proud about it, you're not the only one, fshu~"

"Eeh! Do you-..."

"What about the student, Momo?" asked Oishi quickly to prevent the two from fighting.

"What, aah, the student. Actually, it's a girl, she's in our class!"

"Eee?! You're so lucky, Momo! So, what's her name?" Eiji bounced on unsuspecting Ryoma to relieve some of the energy.

"Ehe-hee... I don't know."

"You don't know?!" came the resentful reply from all the directions of the club.

"How can you not know?"

"You're in the same class, aren't you?"

"Fshh. Baka Peach Head."

"Don't tell me _you_ know what her name is, eh, Mamushi?!"

"Fshh..."

"Takahashi Kanon. Please stop glomping me, Eiji-senpai" said Ryoma unexpectedly, leaving all the teammates stunned.

"What did you say, Ochibi?"

"Please stop glomping me, Eiji-senpai."

"No, before that."

"Whatever, you still could stop glomping me."

"He's loosing his breath, Eiji. Let go of him," said Tezuka, worried about his kōhai's well-being.

"He means her name is Takahashi Kanon," smiled Fuji. He wondered how could Ryoma know her. He did say he will be her friend, but if she was to snatch Ryoma away, he will strike.

"Unyah! Fujiko knows her too?!"

"Yeah," an idea came to his mind. To warn the girl about the consequences of being his acquaintance... _'And I won't forget about 'the girl' thing too'_. "Do you want to meet her?"

"Of course!" a chorused reply.

"Then I will take her with me to the next practice."

_'Here you are, little girl. Let's see how you will handle a Tennis Team full of boys... With your phobia, that is.'_ **-evil chuckle in his mind-**

**

* * *

**(1) That's the onomatopoeia for the growling stomach.

(2) Actually, Kanon's a catholic, I guess you could see that... ^^'

(3) Kann has a criteria with which she judges the boys. More about it in later chapters...

Now, just wait patiently for Kanon's meeting with the Regulaa :) ...or not, you will see ^^

See you!


	6. Friends: Where Are They?

**Author Notes**

I'm sorry... again. I was lazy, and Christmas and New year weren't really full of free time. And after that I had to fight with teacher for my grades, it was the end of semester for me. I wrote new chapter, and I have one more week without school. I will try to produce something during it, bu I won't promise...

Thanks for sticking with me!

Enjoy :)

**Being Feminine**

**Chapter 6**

Three weeks had passed since Kanon's arrival. Her classmates had calmed a little and now she could start to make some friends. Right, that was the problem. She could _start _but she had no idea how to. She transferred as a second year according to her age, month after the school start. Everyone already found their mates during their first year, there was no need for them to befriend Kanon. She was being treated like a celebrity or a class-mascot. Everyone was friendly, it was just that the first step was for Kanon to take. Which, of course, was a no-no in Kanon's view. In times like these, she used to weep to go back to her gang, but she stopped after a while.

Nothing changed the fact that no one would come to her desk, though.

"Takahashi-san, the bell rang for lunch," called out to her one of the boys. He stood pretty far from her, like all the other guys did while talking to her. After those three weeks, they became accustomed to her phobia and respected it. The boy in question was subjected to category safe-in-5-meter-radius. Kanon didn't remember his name, why bother?

"Ah, right. Thanks," she replied politely.

She stood and walked out of the room, finding her way outside the school building. After the unpleasant encounter at the roof, the girl didn't come close there again. She had chosen another place under a lone tree on a hillock. She had a view on club facilities, especially tennis courts. Kanon wasn't a big fan of tennis, but after spending after school hours on her hillock, she watched a few tennis practices and found her admired senpai to be a part of the tennis regular team. That was a big shock to her, but she thought it fascinating. He was the first friend she made, but since he was older, Kanon hadn't had much chance to talk with her. _Him_. Sometimes she was still making the big mistake. Thankfully Fuji-senpai wasn't the one to get upset over such things like others.

She stumbled upon other boy, the cute and cool one, more often than she would like to. He, too, was in tennis team, though a freshman. Every time Kanon spotted him she will turn around and ran in different direction, feeling his smirk on her back. And that wasn't her imagination... There was time he had seen her first, and when she got all flustered, he_ snorted. _That was so embarrassing, Kanon fused over it all night later, and because of that she didn't get much sleep.

Her class master and two other boys from class were in tennis team too. She wondered if this was a coincidence, or was Ryuuzaki-sensei the only one who could subdue the boys? Kanon didn't pay much attention to these two, they were annoying and bothersome. The teacher, on the other hand, though loud and annoying in some way too, was nice and helpful. And was one of the staff that could actually teach, and teach good. Though Math wasn't an easy subject, the girl got no problems after sensei's explanation.

There was also the ojō-sama. Kanon had met her a few times in a corridor, but hadn't got the chance to talk to her. She was always surrounded by a bunch of guys. From observations Kanon had made, it appeared to her that the girl was a school idol. Equally nice (which meant cold) to everyone, she felt more relaxed with boys than girls. They worshipped her and so did the girls, only that the female population was a jealous one that didn't like to show how impressed they were. Ojō-sama could have sometimes been found snogging with a guy... or so the rumor went. It was a proven fact that she changed her boyfriends faster than one could say 'be my girlfriend'. Ojō-sama never looked pleased though. In fact, she always had the same expressionless face. Kanon couldn't help being drawn in by that girl.

Kanon thought she could make friends with at least one person from her class and that was the girl who sat behind her during classes. The promised conversation about the Circus Duo and other wonders *hintcoughRyomacoughhint* of the school. The situation had gotten a bit complicated when transfer-girl was being chased after by her own classmates. The girl decided to leave Kanon alone after she had run away out of the classroom a few times. Everything would be fine again if only Kanon had come to talk to her. She didn't have enough courage to do so, though.

She sighed and made herself comfortable on the grass. It was lunch break, so of course there wasn't any practice going on on the facilities, but Kanon couldn't help as her gaze wandered to the tennis courts. She sighed again, her hope crushed – nobody was there. Either they shared they lunch in their classrooms or together in the cafeteria. Being all alone, she was jealous.

_'But it's all your fault!'_ she scolded herself. The girl knew that everything depended on her and how she dealt with things. Feeling sudden rush of adrenaline, she decided. There was no time moping around here!

Kanon went back to her class. She still had enough time to make conversation before the break ended. The closer she got to her destination, the more she felt the knot tighten around her stomach. _Be brave_, she told herself. It was just a conversation for God's sake! She found the girl in her usual seat.

"Um... Ano..." said Kanon quietly. The girl didn't even brought her head up.

"I'm sorry...!" apologized Kanon. Finally, this got her the girl's attention.

"What are you apologizing for?" she asked, surprised.

Kanon became disconcerted.

"Well, I... I thought you were mad at me..."

"And what have you done to make me mad?" she raised her brow.

"Don't know." Kanon flashed her a smile. "Thought you would tell me."

"Sahara Aoi." the girl smiled, holding out her hand.

"Takahashi Kanon." They shook hands. "So what is it about my desk that nobody wants to approach it?"

Aoi suddenly became tense and serious. "Well, you should sit, I think. This is not a story for children. I began at the beginning of the school year..."

**BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE BEING FEMININE **

Those were good three weeks for Syuusuke. It reminded him of his last year of Middle School, when all his friends were together – like now. He wondered why hadn't he given up the Photography Club before? Oh well, probably because nobody was able to persuade him to do it. Nobody, until Ryoma enrolled here. And there was that other reason...

Nevermind, he was happy now. Spending time with his best friend made him less rebellious. The teachers had thrown a party for this. Who could blame them? Fuji Syuusuke could be a real pain in the ass when he wanted to, and at the beginning of the year – he did. Such unstoppable force had made some of the school staff go to the psychiatrist; they had been on the verge of loosing their sanity.

But there was something that bothered him. That new girl. Syuusuke promised the rest to bring her someday. He wanted to. God knows he did, but she never was in her classroom whenever he went to fetch her. And her classmates had no idea were she could be either. Syuusuke didn't like the situation. At all. And his mood became worse after Ryoma... Oh well.

**Flashback**

The practice ended, just like Eiji's rants and pleas to bring him transfer girl _here_ and _now_ did. That was something that he was glad for, 'cause as much as he likes and cares for the redhead, Syuusuke knew it was just a couple of moments and he would strangle him. Which wasn't a good thing, it was obvious he would miss him later.

"Fuji-senpai, I could do it for you."

Syuusuke turned around to find Ryoma, who was leaning on the lockers. Syuusuke raised his brow, thinking of all the possibilities of _what exactly_ Ryoma wanted to do.

"That sounded rather... disturbing, Echizen. Care to explain?" (dirty thoughts?)

"I meant the girl. You know, Takahashi Kanon. If you're unable to bring her, I can do it. _Without any problems_."

"Oh? Don't worry about it, my dear Ryoma. I'm working on it, I just can't find her in her class."

"I know. But I bump into her rather often, you know. It's not a problem to drag her here... for me at least" he added the last part on reflection.

"There's no need, thank you" Syuusuke smiled at him a walked away.

**End of Flashback**

This bothered him. A lot. From what Ryoma said, he could infer that his dear Ryo was closer to that girl than he first thought. He needed to find this Kanon and talk to her. Nobody could take his Ryoma away without facing consequences.

But... Maybe he overreacted? After all, Ryoma bumped into her. Bumped, meaning met her accidentally. That could have been sheer luck.

Or fate.

That was something that gave him bigger headache than ever and he decided he didn't want to think about it. For more reasons than Syuusuke thought at first, some unexpected...

He passed Kanon's classroom, glancing for just a moment, out of habit, and stopped in his track. He couldn't believe what he saw, _she _was finally where he wanted her to be.

Predacious smile made its way on his face. Time to hunt.

She was talking with some girl from the seat behind. She was dyed blond, her hair about to escape from short ponytail. She was talking quickly, gesticulating a lot. Kanon was listening, enormous flush on her cheeks. Her eyes were big; she didn't want to loose a word the other girl was saying. Syuusuke smiled, feeling somehow warm. Well, he _was _her friend, probably the first one she made here. Kanon was new, and he was worried how she would cope with things here. Shy personality doesn't usually help with a horde of students playing with their new toy. He was glad she made other friends, she wouldn't feel lonely.

He made his way toward Kanon, placing hand on her shoulder. She jumped, startled, and looked at him with scared eyes that quickly changed to immense happiness. Syuusuke could promise he even saw sparkles.

"Hello, Takahashi-san," he smiled.

"Good afternoon, Fuji-senpai!" she greeted him eagerly, her companion following suit. "What brings you here?"

"Well, my friends wanted to meet you. I know you're... scared of boys, so I tried to postpone it, but..." He saw her smile falter a little.

"Yes?"

"Would you come with me to our Tennis Club later? You could watch us practice and then..."

"The hell will begin" she murmured under her nose.

"Yeah, I guess so. But you already know me, and it seems you know also Echizen," he watched her face changing color to red, from embarrassment and lack of air, he thought. The reaction was strange and disturbing.

"Breathe, girl. In, out, in out..." commanded her ponytail friend.

"Sorry," she blushed from even bigger embarrassment. "I just don't like him much."

_'And I'm scared of him.' _Syuusuke got the silent message in her eyes.

"Well, chill out! I will be there, nothing is going to happen. Wait here after lessons, I will go get you. Bye," Syuusuke waved his hand and walked out of the classroom.

"I hope so" she whispered, closing her eyes in worry. She watched her favorite senpai leave.

Kanon was scared of what was going to become of the meeting, but she would do it. Everything to spend some more time with him.

* * *

I'm evil, I know. Next chap: meeting Regulars, and maybe (it depends how long the meeting will be) you will get to know about the mystery of Kanon's desk xD

Bye!


	7. Regulars: The Chaos They Are

**Author Note**

Okay, sorry to bother you guys again. Long time no see I think? Please take (read?) this chapter 7 as an apology gift. Yes, Kanon finally meets Regulars... and chaos ensures, literally.

I will try to write next chapter as soon as possible, but I'm sure I won't be able to make it before next month. My school is... Argh. Let's just say, I have to fight for my marks – I don't want to leave everything to the end of the school year.

_**Plushietiger**_: Don't worry! I'm not fond of triangles (or threesomes, for that matter... ahem...), so that won't be the case. Besides, I have something planned for Ryoma, though you won't see much of it in this story. I plan on doing another one, RyomaxOC, after I finish this one. It will be parallel to _Being Feminine,_ for a bit, at least.

**And I want to show my greatest thanks to **_**AquaJet**_**, who so generously offered to be my beta. No, wait a sec, it should be The Beta. Yes, that's better. **

Well, have fun!

**Being Feminine**

**Chapter 7**

Oh no. Oh no. _Oh no._

These words should be enough to describe the situation Kanon got into herself quite accurately. In her opinion at least, this is when and where her life will be brought to its end. At the age of sixteen, at her school, young girl committed suicide/was killed. Choose what you prefer, there was no other way out now. She already said she will go. But why? Why did she agree...?

Oh yes.

Those eyes, those beautiful, blue eyes that somehow took her will away and left her selfless (because Kanon was in a crappy mood, she didn't feel like being poetic). That smile, that gorgeous, thrilling smile that seemed so fake yet at the same time so real. That voice, that pretty, gentle voice that made her feel safe and home.

Oh yes, there was no way she could oppose Fuji Syuusuke. Because of that, her life was going to become living hell just few minutes after lessons' end, and few minutes before club practice's start.

* * *

"What are you so happy about?" The confused Oishi asked. He worried about his friend, well, nothing surprising here. Fuji was usually smiling a smile saying I-will-make-your-life-hell, but now... it was a _happy_ smile, a smile that was seen very rarely that kind of freaked poor fukubuchō.

"Nothing, really. Ne, do you want to meet the transfer girl?" The sudden question startled Oishi even more and made him feel uneasy, as he didn't know how he should answer – how Fuji wanted him to, or how he really felt about that? The correct answer would probably be – how Fuji wants, but even then he would be able to see through a lie (which was a no-no if you dream of a peaceful life) and... Well, you never know what is it Fuji wants you to say.

"Hmm... I-I think it would be nice to become acquainted with her, b-but I wouldn't want her to think we are tr-trying to come into her personal life and in-interfere..."

"I see. I'm glad" Fuji smiles again. "Only two more lessons... I can't wait!"

Oishi was speechless.

Huh?!

"Fuji-kun, Oishi-kun. I might have let you sit near each other, but that doesn't give you the right to talk during the lesson" Kurosaki-sensei forced a smile.

"Ah, yes. I'm sorry," Syuusuke beamed at the teacher, who got scared even more.

* * *

"Don't bother."

That voice sounded familiar. So familiar, that Kanon should have remembered it already, especially because it reminded her of someone or something dangerous, yet cute. She decided to peek just a little from behind the corner. Actually, she didn't know why exactly she couldn't go and see normally, it was just a school corridor. The girl scolded herself for stupidity.

_'And now I must look like an idiot to them,'_ she thought bitterly as some students passed her with strange looks on their faces. _'Never mind, just focus as to not get caught at peeking.'_ She shifted her body to get a bit closer to the corner and...

She couldn't believe her own eyes. What was that Ryoma kid doing with ojō-sama?! Their personalities were completely different form each other! This couldn't be happening! But it did. Only Kanon's imagination changed what she had seen into something more... more. Let's leave it at that and get to what truly was happening. Our dear Boy Wonder (yes, with capital letters) was walking and _talking _with the Idol Girl. What was the talk about, Kanon didn't know (nor hear), but it looked like he was helping her with some books...? It was a bit confusing and too much for our poor Nagoya Girl to take.

And then, the bell rang.

Only one more lesson to the... yeah

* * *

Syuusuke sprang to his feet faster than anyone could even blink.

"What are you doing, Fuji-kun?" Ishijima-sensei sighed.

"Well, going to change myself for practice. The bell rang already, the lesson is over~" sang said boy.

The teacher gave him a weird look.

"What is wrong with you today? Okay, class, get out!" he ordered, and everyone flooded out of the classroom.

"Fuji-"started Oishi, but he was cut by his friend.

"I have something to do, see you in a few minutes!" And with that, The Genius ran off.

He knew she will be there, even if the only thing she could dream about was running away. Yet he had to hurry, something was pushing him further and faster, something that he didn't give a second thought. He was sure she will be there, but what if... what if...? The thought scared him more than it should, and Syuusuke felt it was connected to the thing that was pushing him.

_'Concentrate on the task and don't mind such... disturbing thoughts.'_

So he ran, earning surprised glances form the student body. Ignoring whispers, he made it safely to the classroom before anyone got out of there, before she ran away-... That's what he thought, but the class was dismissed before the bell and the room was empty, almost empty. She was sitting where he found her on the lunch break, her head swaying slowly as if trying to calm the owner.

* * *

When Kanon heard the door opening, she knew her fate was sealed. Overcoming her fright, she looked at him and all worries vanished in the void, they were pushed away by the feeling of immense happiness that always engulfed Kanon when he was with her.

_'Everything will be fine.'_

They walked in complete silence, neither wanting to break it nor knowing what to say. It was easier and more comfortable, just walking and drawing the pleasure from. Besides, what was there to tell? They both knew what was waiting at the end of the path. Well, maybe Syuusuke had a better idea than Kanon, but that was the more reason to not say anything. She just might change her mind and run away. She didn't, though, and they reached the tennis courts unnoticed by other members.

"Where's Syuusuke?" The excited Eiji asked. "I want the girl, now!"

Syuusuke felt Kanon stiffen beside him.

"I'm right here, Eiji," he replied softly, wanting to avoid more stress for the girl.

Bright redhead turned around and beamed at his friend.

"Ne, Fujiko, where's Nagoya-cchi?"

"...Ha...?"

"The transfer girl!" Eiji explained impatiently. "Where is she?!"

"Isn't she right next to me...?" Fuji blinked in confusion.

"What are you talking about, nobody is here but you!"

"Fuji-senpai is under delusion. Mada mada dane." Leave it to Ryoma to summarize everything with one sentence.

Syuusuke looked to his right, then to his left. Kikumaru was right, Kanon wasn't next to him! Where was she, then? Suddenly he felt a light pull at the back of his shirt, and then, he _knew_.

"Worry not, for I am awesome..." He started and stopped abruptly at the looks others were giving him. "Well, if you insist that much, I can skip Atobe-like beginning. She's behind me. Here, come on! There's nothing to fear," he said softly to Kanon, who by that time clang to his back as if it was her last resort. Her eyes were pleading and she was snuffling, but the girl broke under Fuji's gaze and nodded.

"H-hello..." She greeted the Regulars shyly, barely exposing her head. Kanon's grip on Syuusuke's shirt tightened.

"Nya! She's here!" jumped Eiji happily, his earlier displeasure forgotten.

"Che. You would think we want to eat her or something..."

"Oi, Echizen! Don't insult my classmate! She's shy, that's why," Momo defended Kanon.

"Fshuuu...?" Even though he thought the same, he didn't voice it out. Kaidoh couldn't just agree with Momoshiro, could he?

"Saa, please stand back a bit, everyone, you're scaring her..." Fuji's plan to torture the girl a bit disappeared when he looked at her face and decided to step in before she got a heart attack. Too bad it didn't work...

"Umm... ano... um..." tried Taka-san, but his shyness was equal to that of Kanon's and he failed completely.

"So, what is your name?!"(1)

"Eiji, you already know that, ask some questions that will actually provide me with good data," complained Inui. He corrected his glasses and looked at the chaos around him.

Tezuka had been standing next to him without a word ever since Fuji came, who was actually for once in his life trying to save somebody instead to adding to the misery. Unfortunately, Fuji shielding Kanon didn't help much with Eiji jumping up and down, right and left and behind Tensai's back, finally getting the chance to glomp unsuspecting girl. Echizen after his remark remained silent and only watched with unusual for him attention. His eyes seemed to never leave Kanon and Syuusuke. Momo tried to fight with Kaidoh over, what? Ah, who was better classmate for the girl. Kawamura was standing and sighing heavily from time to time. Oishi was appointed to go to the infirmary to get Tezuka's pills for headache (he ran out of them) and to calm down.

"**No!**" Someone cried, catching Inui's attention. It was the Nagoya-cchi (or how Eiji called her, never mind), who tried to get rid of said redhead. But he just grabbed her tighter, and...

"Takahashi-san!" Syuusuke caught the girl along with his best friend.

_She passed out._

* * *

She almost couldn't breathe. There were so many boys... so many... and even more further in the courts. All of them were big, a lot bigger than her. How would she be able to defend herself? But that gaze, reminding her of the promise she had made, let her believe everything would be okay.

Except it wasn't, they were talking so fast, seemingly with good intentions (or that was what the tone of their voices told her), but she could see they just wanted to get closer to her. Closer, so they could reach her, touch her, crush her! She knew so she hid herself behind the only other girl (2) in this pool of frightening creatures. Why? She wanted to scream, her fear was so overwhelming it hurt her physically. And then... **No!** Kanon wasn't sure if she said, no, shrieked it out loud, but she was sure of one thing – they were the same bunch of bullies as any other boys. Now she really couldn't breathe, surely from the strangling hold on her neck and a heavy, male body that she crumbled upon and fell. Tears made their way on her cheeks as she lost her consciousness.

"What did I do?! Is she alright?! I'm so sorry!!!"

"It's okay, Eiji, she's fine, she's just...a bit stressed."

"Fuji. Take her to the infirmary. You will come back and join the rest in running hundred laps," commanded Tezuka. Nobody complained about the amount of laps this time, everyone needed a distraction and some compensation for the girl to ease their guilt. No idea how them running could help Kanon, but it's the thought that counts.

"Okay. Don't worry, Eiji." Syuusuke turned to the devastated Kikumaru." It really is not your fault if anyone's to blame, then it should be me. She's scared of boys, a kind of phobia. I should have told you that before I brought her, but..." he trailed off, but everybody understood. His sadistic tendencies didn't let him to warn the rest of the Regulars.

"Well then, I'm off."

The rest of them turned to run in silence. Do I have to point that this silence didn't last long?

"Che," mumbled Echizen under his nose, finally understanding her strange behavior few days ago (or was it weeks, already?) on the rooftop.

"So what do you think, Inui?" the data man asked Oishi.

"Hm. Ii data…"

"I-I see..." Everyone sweat dropped.

"Ne," Kikumaru smiled mischievously. "What do you think Fujiko-chan is doing with her right now? Supposing she's awake, of course..."

"Eiji! How, how could y-you say that?!" panicked Oishi, determined to keep his team pure and innocent. He didn't know it was too late, though.

"I think Fuji-senpai wouldn't bother..." Ryoma started.

"W-wha! Ochibi!"

"You're ruining fun, not good, not good at all..."

"Thank God..." Oishi sighed; glad at least the youngest of them was just as he wanted him to be, Innocent and pure. No seriously, that's how Oishi thought the Boy Wonder was.

"...With her being unconscious or not, he would just get right down to business," Ryoma finished his thought with a smirk.

Everyone bursts into laugher. Only vice-captain was in tears, ripped off of his ideal utopia.

"True, true!"

"But let's not say anything to Fujiko!"

At that, they fell silent, scared of the mere thought of Tensai finding out.

Tezuka watched, not wanting to know what they were talking about, when the group laughed once again, unable to contain their happiness inside themselves.

Kanon moaned. She was feeling great, really. Actually, more than great, she moaned again. She was half naked and her Fuji-senpai was doing very dirty but oh-so-pleasant things to her body...

Not! Please turn off your dirty imagination, perverts!

Instead, she was lying in a bed in the infirmary. She groaned when her memory came back. Then she saw somebody sitting in a chair next to her. Kanon squint her eyes to get a better sight. That slim figure and gentle features... That must be it!

"Oh! I'm so happy you're with me!" she managed to say through her tears of joy. "Although I don't know you...

_'What? What is she talking about? Maybe it's amnesia?'_

"I thank you really much! I would hate it if a boy would be here with me, but I see I have nothing to worry!"

"Um... Takahashi-san... It's me, Fuji Syuusuke." He waited for her response, surely not filled with positive emotions.

"Oh! I'm sorry, senpai! But it's fine, even better!"

Now that surprised Syuusuke.

"Someone I know,"

_'Yes,'_ he nodded to himself. _'That's right.'_

"My friend,"

_'I guess,'_ he shrugged.

"and what's the best, a girl!"

_'Well, can't disagree with that... wait, __**what**__?!'_

"Um, Takahashi-san..." Syuusuke started, trying with all his might to not twitch. "But I'm a boy, remember?"

She sucked in her breath, suddenly feeling a chill going down her spine. But she calmed down.

"I'm sorry, once again. Of course I remember, I guess I just haven't woken up fully yet."

"It's okay."

_'Only it's not okay.'_ Tensai knew he wouldn't take it anymore. He was teased a lot for being feminine, but for someone to actually believe that, be sure of that... Now it was time to fix that annoying trait of Kanon's, he decided. But for that, he will need a plan...

"Well, I still have tennis practice. Will you be okay by yourself? At least until Kyoko-san comes." Syuusuke got up from a really hard and uncomfortable chair.

"Sure. Thank you for taking care of me," smiled Kanon.

"No problem, after all it's my duty as a senpai. See you."

"Bye!" Kanon waved at Fuji.

_'Duty as a senpai? I guess it's true. She really helped me a few times already... I mean, he! I'm so sorry Fuji-senpai! But then, why would he be friends with a group of such...'_ She decided to re-watch in her mind everything that happened at the courts. After some hard thinking, she reached a conclusion.

_'It was my fault. I shouldn't have panicked like that. They were only trying to be friendly... to get to know me. I screwed up. Oh God, I disappointed Fuji-senpai! How he must be feeling disappointed right now, having to explain all that…And what about them? I guess I will have to get myself together and apologize. And to start over, Fuji-senpai wanted me to be friends with them, so I will be!'_

She paused her thoughts for a while and sniffled.

_'I'm so __**sorry**__, Syuusuke-senpai!'_(3)

* * *

Okay, that's it for today. I, once again, beg for your mercy... I know it took me a long time.

1) That's Kikumaru, he puts "nya" in every word he can. So yeah, it was on purpose.

2) That other girl, it was our dear Syuusuke. Kanon's mind wasn't working right at that moment.

3) Yes, that's on purpose too xD Calling him by first name now, Kanon-chan, hmmm?


	8. Regulars: Them Again! Oh, No!

**Author Note**

Ohmigawd, I can't believe it took me so long...

But, there was (still is, I have a "talk" with my Physics teacher this Tuesday for a better mark) school, my sister's wedding, and no Internet for a while. Sorry, but... I have a bit over nine pages in OpenOffice of _Being Feminine_ for you! Be happy!

Oh, and one more thing – I hope I can post another chapter before 6th of July, 'cause that's when I'm going to France on my holidays. I won't be back for three weeks I there will be no time there nor place I could write. If I don't finish next chapter before going away, I will post what I will have by then.

Well, enough rambling. Enjoy~!

**Being Feminine**

_**Chapter 8**_

Kanon had it hard. First of all, she had to apologize. Usually it wouldn't be something to bother her. But she had to apologize to boys. And boys are in plural form because there were many. Second thing is they were friends of Fuji-senpai, so they were supposed to be treated with respect. Also, she and Aoi-san decided to solve the mystery of Kanon's desk and visit school at night. The girls didn't know when exactly it would be, but it still made Kanon feel uneasy.

"What's wrong, honey?" asked Mother.

"Huh? Nothing is wrong." Kanon blinked, confused.

"But you're doing the laundry."

"Yeah, so?"

"Did you forget? You're not allowed to do it. Just like you're not allowed to cook, clean the table..."

"Okay, okay, I get it!" the irritated girl cut in. "Here, I will leave it for you to finish."

"For me?" It was Mother's turn to blink. "You've gotta be kidding. Watch me, Darling!"

"What is it?" Father came in through the door.

"There's laundry that needs to be done," smiled Mother. "Could you do it? Meanwhile, I will repair that microwave. After that we could..."

"Not in front of our daughter! She's only sixteen!" hissed Father, already heading for unfinished laundry.

Seeing she wasn't needed at the moment to the point of being a disturbance, dear daughter just rolled her eyes and went to do homework.

_'Jeez, that father! You would think I have no idea what they do on the washing machine...'_

And then, she fell. For an excuse, Kanon had a floor that was just a bit too wet.

"Please don't forget to clean up the mess you make!"

"Thank you for worrying about my health, mother!"

* * *

Kanon stared at it and couldn't stop.

_'Come on, staring won't take you anywhere,'_ she tried to convince herself. _'Stop staring and get to work!'_ After such encouragement from such a lovely lady, of course she couldn't refuse. Too bad the lady was Kanon herself and she was being lazy at the moment. She stared at it some more, but gave up in the end. _'I will do it later...'_ One glance at it, and then a feeling of guilt occurred.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Homework!" she clasped her hands in apology.

Feeling satisfied and finally free of guilt, she threw herself on bed. She bounced up a bit, her hair swaying in air along with dust. Kanon coughed. Surely this room needed some serious and thorough cleaning.

"Eh..."

Kanon looked at the ceiling, searching for something there. Maybe answers to her problems and if she has problems, then what kind?

That she can't keep up with her class in Math after all?

That she's falling Math and PE?

That she's banned from attending PE because teacher had had enough of her clumsiness which caused a lot of mayhem during lesson?

That apart from Aoi-san and Fuji-senpai she hadn't made any friends?

Even if Aoi-san was her friend, she already had Minagawa-san, a childhood friend?

And speaking of Fuji-senpai...

_'No!'_ She closed her eyes tightly, trying to repel the thought. Hadn't she told herself not to think about it? It just hurt and caused headache... And she already knew what to do, so why?

"I should have decided on doing homework." Just lying around didn't help, Kanon already knew that. What to do...?

What all the troubled young girls do in such situation – talk to someone!

* * *

"You did what?!" Aoi-san shouted, surprised. "Some courage you've got! Or is it stupidity...?"

"Could you please stop with ridiculing me?" Kanon sobbed.

"Stop whining! You said you already know what to do, why ask me?"

"But..."

"No buts!" Aoi-san sighed, hoping Kanon could feel her impatience with new friend through the telephone. "Listen. You made friends with Fuji Syuusuke. But don't think you can take and not give, especially when it comes to him. I've heard some rumors, though I don't believe them. Even so, it won't hurt to be on the defense. Be careful while being with him."

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know myself. Anyway, you complain about having no friends, but when you have the chance to have eight of them(1), you... ARGH!"

"What? What happened? Aoi-san?! Are you okay?" Kanon panicked.

"Yes, I am okay, but I think you are not. To think you refused making friends with tennis regular team, that just makes me so MAD! I'm so **aggravated**!"

"I-I see..." Kanon sweat dropped. It seemed that calling her only girl friend wasn't such a good plan after all.

"No, you don't. Listen. Don't worry about it. From what I heard, none of them are the kind of people who tend to cling to past. Apologize and everything will be okay, they will forgive you. Make friends with them, and when you do, introduce me to them."

"Ha...?"

"Well, they may not be as popular as soccer team, but they do have quite a lot of fans. They weren't a good team last year, but got better since Fuji Syuusuke and Echizen Ryoma joined them this year."

"Echizen... Ryoma... ugh..."

"Yes, that Echizen Ryoma, the one you've met on the rooftop. He's got the most fans of them all, with Fuji and Kikumaru close behind. So, reassuming, as a team, they don't have much fans. But, as a person, every each of them has got pretty much a girl for every day in a year."

"This many?! How come?"

"Well, their personalities are great, don't you agree?"

"No, I don't."

Silence in a receiving end of the conversation.

"…"

"…"

"Right, I shouldn't be surprised. I already knew your mind works differently than a normal human's one."

"Thank you, doctor."

"No problem, it's my job to diagnose what's wrong with the patient."

* * *

Syuusuke couldn't help blaming himself for what happened on the courts. He should have predicted it, isn't he a genius? More mistakes like that and the title will go to that self-spoken, redheaded, bubble-loving, Rikkaidai genius-idiot. Which he, Fuji Syuusuke, can't let happen.

He sighed. _'I'm doing it a lot, lately.' _

But the matter was serious. His friends might have joked about the incident, but he knew they were feeling guilty. Eiji was being too happy and bouncy, Ryoma was being a worse brat than usual, Momo was eating way too much (and gaining way too much weight). Kaidoh was jogging past his house every half hour, which never occurred before. Inui called him at least six times since he got back home (and who knows how many more before he got there) informing about new juices (_five_ of them, actually – the Regulars will be dying during next practice, he just knew that...). Taka left a package with lots of sushi without a word and Oishi came and asked how was Kanon a few times, too.

He never worried this much over someone who wasn't a teammate before. And Tezuka ... well, it was Tezuka, so the only thing that told how he felt was a sigh or rather sighs, lots of them. And he took four pills to calm down, even though he usually takes only two per day maximum. Fuji had to do something about it, and quickly.

Syuusuke turned on his other side. Just lying on the bed didn't do any good. He didn't come up with anything new, just that he had to fix thing – but he already decided on it today, when he saw how much it bothered Kanon to be with them… with him. That was something new to him, a challenge from fate, maybe? Or maybe God decided the young man was too bored with his life and threw a trouble-making angel in shape of Kanon?

He wished he could talk to his sister, but she was busy with work lately, just like mother. Yuuta wasn't here, either...

His hand lingered on the phone for a while, before letting go. Calling Yuuta was no good. They still weren't in good terms. Who else, than his little brother...? Syuusuke's eyes widened as realization hit him. There was another younger brother! One that actually knew the whole matter and it was concerning him, too...!

He tapped his fingers on the surface of the table, shifting his body in impatience, as he waited for somebody to pick up the phone. He didn't have the whole day, damn it, so pick up the fucking phone already, dumbasses!

* * *

Ryoma felt down a bit, but it was understandable. So his friends probably didn't mind him being more bratty than normal, did they? Oh well, he could deal with it later. Later ... He had other matters troubling him now.

That girl, she was making him mad, to tell the truth. First of all, if had he known she was so close to Fuji, he wouldn't have had been so cold to her on that rooftop. Especially if he was expected to be friends with her after all, that was just plain waste of energy! He had to act unlike himself for that, and actually talk – God, that was weird. Moreover, it didn't help, really, knowing about her phobia _now_. He probably scared the poor girl shitless. That certainly didn't help with her weakness, more likely made it even worse.

_'I hope Fuji-senpai won't find out...'_

Speaking of said tensai, Ryoma became suspiciously close to him lately – how come? And he only realized it not long ago. Could it be that senpai planned it? But for what purpose? Not that Ryoma minded, really – in some ways, Fuji was better than Momo. Quieter, more rational, challenging... He found that he really liked spending time with Syuusuke-senpai.

And Ryo caught himself at calling him by his given name. For example, sentence before.

"I'm back!" he called into house, already seeing his father lying comfortably on the couch, with some magazine in hand and a stupid, dreamy smile. He was drooling.

_'Not that again...'_ Ryoma sighed, trying to hide his irritation. He learned no good would come out of arguing with the old man.

"Oh, you're finally back! What took you so long?" His father actually looked up at him. Not that it's a surprise; he just never thought his dad could ever take his eyes off the damn rubbish.

"Burgers with Momo," was his answer, short but concise, like always. "What's that noise?" He just noticed something was ringing for a while now – it already was when he came home.

"Oh, it's just a phone. It comes from your room, so I guess it's for you, that's why I didn't bother picking it up."

Ryoma's patience ran out and he snapped.

"You just didn't want to leave your precious _journal_ alone."

"Hmm, probably," Nanjiroh wrinkled his nose.

"You didn't even deny it! What if it's important?!"

"Well, they can always call again, can't they? And if it was important, then shouldn't you go up there and answer?"

"...Right. I was getting ready to do just that."

Oh, how Ryoma wished he could make it in time before the person on the other end hang up. And how it wasn't Fuji-senpai, who hated waiting...

His face paled with one look at the phone.

_'Oh no, It _is _him. I'm as good as dead.'_

"Yes?" he answered nonetheless. It was worthless to ignore the call, if not now then he would get his scolding at school.

"Ryoma, finally! What took you so long?" The voice sounded weary, troubled and irritated. Yeah, Ryoma could guess what made him irritated...

"Sorry, just came back home from burgers. Dad kept me downstairs, talking."

"Hmm," he sounded doubtful. "Anyway, I need to talk."

"About Takahashi?" They were so similar that sometimes they didn't need many words. Ryoma just _knew_ it was her who made senpai worry.

"Yeah, what to do?"

"Why ask me? Did I make an impression of a sociable person, who knows what's going on with other people emotions?"

"Right... Sister is working, mom's working, and I couldn't bring myself to call Yuuta..."

"Okay, so what is it?"

"What I said. What to do? I have to fix it. And I still want you guys to meet Kanon normally, and become her friend, or even just acquaintances."

"Well, what does she think about all this?"

"I don't know."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"That was where you were supposed to say something mature, something that would help me..."

"Oh, you want to hear something that would help you?" He could picture Fuji sweat dropping right now. "You're **helpless**."

"Jeez, thanks Ryoma. That helped a lot."

"I thought you were with her after the incident? Well, didn't she say anything?"

"…"

_'Oh ho, so she _did_ say something. Wonder what it is.'_

"Well?"

"Nothing," said Fuji hoarsely.

"O...-kay, then talk to her first. You can't do a thing unless you know what her thoughts about that."

"'Kay, Thanks. Bye."

"Bye, Syuusuke-senpai." He hung up.

_'Makes me wonder what she said to him...'_

* * *

"There's no way I can tell him she mistook me for a girl."

Excluding the part about what-she-said of the conversation, it made him less troubled. After all, it wasn't always that Ryoma called him by his first name. Especially when he was doing it unconsciously, because that showed how much closer they had become.

* * *

The path to school had never been so short. But today was a different day, for Kanon had to overcome a great obstacle. Today, she had to talk to Fuji-senpai and his friends. For that she needed all the courage she could gather.

She would have really liked today's walk if not for her problems. The day was sunny, with some weird-shaped clouds on the sky here and there. It was calm, even though normally the street would be full of busy and hurrying businessmen and students. It was also end of June so there were a lot of colorful flowers that gave a pleasant smell. Kanon let her mind wander to the nature, being overwhelmed by it, dancing through the park...

_Click_

There was a faint noise, but when Kanon twirled around herself, she didn't see anything suspicious.

School came to sight much too quickly, to her dismay. Sighing, she went inside, heading to her locker to change her shoes. She felt a pat on her arm.

"Well? Ready for confrontation with the Regulars?" smiled Aoi-san.

"Not at all," replied Kanon nervously.

"It will be okay. Now come on, you're awfully late today."

"The bell still hasn't rung. So I'm not late."

"No, technically not, but usually you would be at least twenty minutes before the start of the lessons. Why?"

"I'm new here, so I don't want to make trouble for others. I don't want to be late. What if there was traffic and I had to take a longer route?"

"Traffic? On the pavement?! Well, whatever you say. And you're not new anymore. It has been over two months already since you transferred. Everybody has calmed down."

"Except our classmates, they still won't come near me when I'm sitting in my desk."

"I already told you why. Oh, by the way, why don't we go and solve the mystery tomorrow?"

"To-tomorrow?!"

"Yeah. The sooner the better, don't you think? Oh!" Aoi-san exclaimed, surprised. "There's someone here for you, I won't interfere... Good morning, Fuji-senpai."

"Good morning," a soft reply came and a straight posture appeared in front of Kanon. "Hello, Takahashi-san. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Kanon looked desperately at Aoi-san, but she just smiled, showed that she kept her fingers crossed and mouthed _'Don't screw this up'_.

"Of, of course!" Kanon was really nervous. He had taken her by surprise – she didn't think it would happen so quickly. But other side of her was really joyous – she could spend some time with her senpai, and it didn't look like he was really mad! More like... worried?

Fuji-senpai led her to some empty classroom and closed the door.

"Well, I wanted to talk about yesterday."

_'Be straight-forward,'_ Syuusuke told himself. He didn't want to cause a misunderstanding.

"I thought so..."

After Kanon's quiet response there was only silence, but...

"I'm sorry!"

"I wanted to apologize..."

They spoke suddenly and the sound of their voices mixed, making them feel uncomfortable.

"You go first," Syuusuke encouraged her.

"I'm sorry..." she repeated. "I-... If it's possible, I would like to meet your friends again, senpai."

Kanon's voice was a quiet whisper, so quiet that at first Fuji couldn't make out what she just said.

"Oh," he blinked, "I'm surprised. Of course you can meet them. I guess it's necessary to explain it to them. I mean, I told them about your phobia, but I think it's better if they hear it from you."

"Yes; also, I want to explain myself with more... details..." she trailed off.

Syuusuke's eyes opened for a short time when he realized what she was talking about.

_'She wants to tell us about the time when she was bullied.'_ That was a shock. To him, Kanon seemed as a timid person, who rarely spoke about herself, especially about the things that really mattered and were important. That she trusted him, all of them, enough to confide in them, made him feel moved. Suddenly he had a lot of warm feelings for her. He cared for her more than before, more than he wanted, more than was needful. He wanted to protect her, to pay off for the debt he incurred – a debt consisting of positive feelings.

"Don't worry. It won't be the same as before. They wanted to apologize to you, too. They felt bad. Please, don't blame them."

"I don't." She offered him a smile worth of thousand miracles. Unconsciously he clutched his bag, where his precious camera was kept.

"See you during lunch break, then?" Syuusuke tried to keep his voice normal.

"Sure!"

She disappeared in a moment, going to her classroom. But to Fuji, it was as if he would never see her again, and his heart ached.

He needed to either work on his feelings for this little girl, or make her realize what he was. A sadist, a genius, a tennis player, a boy – and make her accept him the way he was.

It will be hard, considering she still thought of him as a girl.

* * *

"So? How did it go?" Kanon ignored Aoi-san's question unintentionally – she simply didn't hear it. She was in her own dreamland, where the teacher's lecture didn't reach. She was a bit uneasy at how will things turn out later at lunch, but... She still could remember (heck, it was just ten minutes ago!) how content she felt around Fuji-senpai. She felt so many emotions, they mixed together, overwhelmed her... Brown eyes were filled with tears of happiness. Emotions took over her, and Kanon wasn't able to communicate with the outside world until the lunch break.

This was the time. Her second confrontation with the Regulars, but first real one and she was nervous, but couldn't wait to see Fuji-senpai. She got an idea that he seemed more... friendly than normally. But maybe that was just her imagination? Either way, it made her go to the cafeteria with lighter mood than the yesterday to the courts.

She looked around to search for a free table, but found none. Lost at what she should do, she heard her name. She didn't have any doubts that it was Fuji-senpai.

_'I'm kind of like a stalker,'_ she thought to herself with a giggle. She already recognized his voice in a crowded place, knew his smell, his way of talking and moving, how his steps sounded... With a large smile on her face she headed to where she was being called from. The table Fuji-senpai was sitting by was more than full, but they managed to squeeze a chair for her, of course, next to Fuji-senpai.

"Um... I wanted to say sorry... for yesterday..." Kanon blushed. It was a lot harder to speak her thoughts to them than only to her senpai.

"It's okay! Nya, we were so worried! Oishi here almost fainted, too, oh wait, didn't he really do it?" the redhead said with a worried look on his face. He was the one who glomped her yesterday...

But today he was sitting across the table and there was no way he could hurt her with Fuji-senpai around. Besides – didn't she decide to trust them?

"Fshuu…" At that, Kanon flinched. Wasn't that one of her classmates...? She looked at the boy. He wore a green bandana and was in the middle of argument with other boy with spiky hair – who was her classmate also?! Oh God, how come she only realized it now?

After apologizing, they weren't paying any attention to her and Fuji. She noticed how they shot them worried glances, as if asking if she was okay. It was nice and just looking at how they behaved with each other calmed her down. It seemed they were always like that – and they treated her the same way as any of the other friends.

Kanon knew she should have started talking, try to explain what happened. But she was distracted and feeling dizzy and the culprit was Fuji-senpai. They were sitting so close to each other (well, there was that Echizen boy on her other side – but he wasn't paying attention to her, and she didn't, either), touching, almost hugging – she was in heaven. The only problem was: why was she so delighted by the contact? This had never happened before... Yes, Kanon had another thing to worry about.

"Well?" nudged her senpai. She knew what that meant. "Guys," he interrupted with the conversations his friends held (or more like bickering), "Takahashi-san wanted to explain herself."

All eyes turned on her and Kanon felt extremely uneasy again. She pressed herself more into Fuji unconsciously (he didn't notice anything either, though the same couldn't have been said for other boys, seeing the looks they shot each other and at his friend). For a moment, she lost herself again when she felt his arm embrace her.

"Nya?" She was brought to the world of living again, this time by the redhead.

"Ah... it's not much, really. Like a lot of kids, I was being bullied during my time in elementary school and at the beginning of middle school. Later, though, I had a few influential in school friends, who helped me. I guess I have this phobia because I am weak. Like I already said, there are many children being bullied. I wasn't the only one in my school. But I still am so... I just can't forget. And it doesn't help that I attract every scum in the world. There were... _are_ times when I am attacked by some hoodlums. In a face of a boy I see a face of one of the bullies or attackers and it doesn't matter if the boy has good intentions or not. My mind twists his actions and words so they sound like an attack at me." Kanon stopped suddenly.

They were looking at her pitifully and determined to make her believe that not all boys are shit. They knew she wasn't comfortable saying all this – especially to strangers because that's what they were to her, for now, at least. She hoped she could change it. They understood her silence and didn't pry her. It was enough for them. All of them – the Regulars and Kanon – made a silent vow to help each other, to understand each other more, to be friends.

For the first time, Kanon was happy in company of nine athletic boys – and she didn't fear them at all.

* * *

(1) Eight, because I didn't count Fuji in – she already knew him and was friends with him, right?

Hehe~ Finally, done! I was rushing a bit at the end, so it didn't come out like I wanted it to, but it's still okay, I guess. I will try to show more Kanon-Regulars next time.

Look forward to the next chapter, for there will be more Aoi-san and more interaction Kanon-Syuusuke! Hehe~ And more Ryoma, definitely more Ryoma!

Bye!


	9. Wasabi: A Lesson One Will Never Forget

Author Note

I'm late again, I know. Sorry.

Thank you all for you reviews! They're motivating. It's my fault I'm slow with the updates...

And we all should worship AquaJet for her hard work. She's the best, I tell you!

Well, I'm not satisfied with this chapter... But it's my fourth try at writing it, and I just don't have enough patience to rewrite it again. Sorry. I will try to make the next chapter better!

**Being Feminine**

**Chapter 9**

"Kanon, get up!"

_'No way, it's too early.'_

"Kanon!"

"I'm up!"

_'Not really…'_

* * *

"Kanon, breakfast is ready! If you don't get up now, you're going to be late!"

"I will be down in five minutes!"

_'As if.'_

* * *

"Kanon! I will not tolerate it any longer and if you don't go eat breakfast _right now,_ I'm going to go get _mother_ to wake you up!"

Kanon couldn't ignore such an obvious threat. It terrified her so horribly, that she fell out of her bed.

* * *

Father's head looked up at the ceiling. He smiled at suspicion of what could have made the noise.

_'At least I can be sure that she finally got out of bed.'

* * *

'They just don't get it,'_ thought Kanon bitterly. She didn't want to go to school. Badly. Very badly. She wondered if there will be time where she wouldn't fear anyone or anything at school and could just enjoy her time of youth. Last time, there were Regulars. The time before that, oh wait, there were Regulars again! But before even that, there was Fuji-senpai and Echizen kid. Oh, and her lack of friends...

_'If I knew that the friend I was searching for so eagerly would turn her back on me...'_ That's right, this time the culprit was Aoi-san. The girl decided – practically by herself – that they should go today, or more rather _tonight, _to school, to put an end to rumors about Kanon's desk. Kanon didn't really want to visit school at night. Schools at night are creepy. She watched too many horrors back in Nagoya, that's for sure.

"Good morning, Ka-nyan!"

"Eh...?" Kanon looked behind her shoulder to look at the person who was greeting her. Or at least, she though it was her. "Kikumaru-senpai! Good morning!"

"You always go through this park?" he asked her curiously.

"Yes, why?" she tilted her head a bit.

"Because I've never seen you here before, nya! And I always go through here, meeting with Fujiko and Taka-chin."

_'T-taka-chin?! Who is it?!' _No matter how much she tried, she couldn't remember any girl of a name similar to that.

"Ah... it's because usually I'm off to school early and I overslept today."

"Then you should oversleep more! That way, we can go to school together!" the redhead shouted enthusiastically.

"Um... senpai?"

"Hai? Nya, don't call me senpai!" he pouted, and Kanon couldn't help but think how cute he looked. "It's bad enough that Kaidoh-chii and O`chibi do it!"

"O-okay..." she didn't have the intention of calling him without "senpai", but he didn't have to know about it, right? Besides, she would be really surprised if he remembered this conversation by the end of the day. "Who is Ka-nyan and who is…O`chibi?" she asked, though she had a good guess about it.

"Huh? You, of course! You're so cute, how could I call you just Kanon?! But don't worry, big brother Eiji already thought of a suitable nickname for you! And O`chibi is Echizen!"

Kanon could only thank God that nobody aside Kikumaru-senpai used the nicknames (based on that Echizen kid's experience).

"_Eiji,_" a very frightening sound came from behind of their backs. Suddenly a hand was found on the hyper-boy's shoulder. Kanon was too scared to look behind and check what was attacking them, though the voice seemed familiar. Eiji, though, looked as if he had a good idea as to who was the culprit and didn't like it, at all.

"Fujiko..." his brow twitched. "I was just being friendly..." Eiji never knew how scary Fuji was…until now.

"Fuji-senpai!" Kanon cried happily. She might have gotten used to the Regulars (a bit), but she still preferred **her** senpai. She flung herself at the older boy, circling her arms around his.

"Good morning, Takahashi-san," answered her Fuji with a chuckle, sounding pleased.

"Well then, I see Oishi on the horizon, so... bye!" waved Kikumaru turning around, but...

_"Who said you could leave?_" The sadistic-Fuji was back in full swing, holding Kikumaru back.

"Ka-nyan, save me~!"

"**Who are you calling Ka-nyan?**" Fuji asked, even more pissed off. His eyes flashed dangerously and his smile hid his sadistic aura. He was defiantly going to tease Eiji later.

"Hiii~! I'm sorry, I won't do it again!" Tears streamed down Eiji's cheeks in waterfalls. "Ka-ny-... I mean, Kanon-chan, SAVE ME!"

Kanon looked at the two, unaware of the subject of their brawl. She tilted her head in consideration.

"But if Fuji-senpai thinks you've done something bad, then you should be punished."

Kikumaru changed into stone and crushed, just like crushed were his hopes placed in the traitorous, little...

"You should alter your image of Fuji when you still have the chance, and run away quickly..." he advised Kanon when he recovered.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"_Yes, just what _**exactly **_do you mean, Eiji?_"

"Hii~! Nothing, I'm sorry! Oishii~!"

And so, Kikumaru Eiji, age 17, raced down the road towards his boyfriend and far away from his best friend.

"Ne, senpai...?" Kanon wasn't really sure what was she asking him.

"It's fine, since its Eiji. He's just different, don't mind him."

"If you say so!" she beamed at him, humming quietly to herself.

She didn't notice the dangerous look in Fuji's eyes..._'Eiji, my friend… If he still says such things, and in front of... well... in front of somebody-who-I'm-not-sure-what-kind-of-feelings-I-have-for, he's in trouble.'_

Oh well, Kikumaru should be glad he was no longer in the same class as Fuji.

At first, he was really irritated with the redhead, but he couldn't complain from the bottom of his heart. He was content walking with Kanon, just the two of them (even if he had to endure the strange look Ryoma was giving him when they passed him and Momoshiro – and Syuusuke _knew_ he will be teased even more from the younger boy later.). He also praised himself on his new accomplishment – Kanon didn't call him a girl even once! But that may have been so because she didn't have much chance.

"It's lesson time now, Fuji-san. Please stop daydreaming and pay attention." Normally, the teacher wouldn't have the courage to talk like that to _the_ Fuji Syuusuke, but recently the boy seemed to have calmed down. It took only one glare, or just opening his eyes, from the boy to convince the teacher that he shouldn't scold Fuji no matter what.

Oishi shot Fuji a worried glance. He answered with his trademark smile. Really, nothing was wrong. The classes were boring – it was as simple as that. He couldn't wait for lunch break, when he was going to meet with his friends as usual. He could also invite Kanon, after all, she should spend as much time as possible with Regulars, to get used to them. That was just that. And maybe he enjoyed her company, but that had nothing to do with him inviting Kanon. Nothing at all.

_'Yeah, right,'_ Syuusuke could hear a sarcastic voice and a snicker in his head. It strangely reminded him of Ryoma's voice. Nevertheless, he couldn't ignore it any longer. Being in denial won't make things better. Being a tensai, he would know when he's in love. Denying it wouldn't last long if you already knew.

He had a crush on Takahashi Kanon and he'd better work on it. He didn't want it to _level-up _to... something, to _love_, for example. He didn't want it, he didn't need it, and he could live without it. End of discussion.

But just this one time, he will let himself invite Kanon, just once.

_'I never thought Biology classes can be this stimulating.'

* * *

_

"Eh? Where are you going, Fuji?" asked Oishi. "Cafeteria is that way, isn't it? You're eating with us, right?"

"Ah, sure," Syuusuke smiled. He had taken off towards Kanon's classroom without thinking, instinctively. If Oishi hadn't called him, he wouldn't have even noticed. "Sorry, just go ahead. I will join you guys in few minutes."

"If you say so," Oishi sighed with a slight smile, as if he knew what was going on in the _tensai_'s head. "Should we keep for you _two_ seats?"

"Yeah, thanks." Another Fuji-like-smile was presented. _'Oishi, he's pretty observant.'_

Syuusuke was a quick runner, thanks to all the training by Tezuka and Inui (mostly the latter and Inui juice), so he reached Kanon's classroom in no time. Only to find she wasn't there. Ignoring the creeping thought that she decided to avoid him again (though for what reason he did not know), he went inside.

"I'm sorry," he called out to three girls sitting near the door. Their heads shot up at the sudden sound and eyes widened when they saw who was talking to them.

"Y-yes?" One of the girls recovered from the shock. Others were capable only of gazing at him in a dreamy manner.

"Do you know where could I find Takahashi-san?"

"Taka... oh, senpai means Kanon-san," she flustered a bit. "She's in the library, I believe."

"Library?" Syuusuke blinked. This was new to him. "Thank you for your help."

"My pleasure!" bowed the girl, blush covering almost whole of her face.

"...But what could _Fuji Syuusuke _want with little Kanon-san?" He heard the reawakened girls ask right after he closed the door.

_'Saa, she's just too much fun…' _Fuji silently answered in his head.

* * *

Kanon sighed.

"Stop with the sighing already!" she heard a malicious voice. An evil aura from behind her told her that Aoi-san was not in a good mood. Probably Kanon's own doing, since she did nothing but complain to her.

"But! I don't want to visit school at night just yet... Can't this wait at least few more days?"

"In a few days you won't be less scared than you are now, no matter what you think. We're going tonight!" Aoi-san growled.

"Sahara, Takahashi! Its Math now, just because I'm your homeroom teacher doesn't mean I will treat you lightly!"

"Eep! We're very sorry!" Kanon straightened in her seat.

"Yeah, what she said," Aoi-san grumbled. Definitely not in the mood. "So, back to our talk..."

"Aoi-san, shh! We've just been scolded!"

"Tch. Who cares? Besides, you're probably going to run off to library again."

"Sorry..."

"Well, this is the last night I'm spending here in Tokyo. So if you want to do it some other day, you will have to do it alone."

"No! Really? Where are you going? Will we keep in touch?" asked Kanon worriedly. Aoi-san just looked at her strangely.

"I'm not moving away, silly!" she parsed quietly. Well, at least _she_ found this situation funny. "I'm just visiting my grandmother; it's almost my grandfather's death anniversary. I will be gone for a week or so."

"Oh."

**RIING**

"I will be going, then!" Kanon shouted while grabbing her bag and books and then storming out of the room. Her destination: library. She was, to put it simply, obsessed with books. She loved reading them because they showed her how beautiful life could be, entertaining her, keeping her company, and never hurting. They had given her shelter from cruel reality every time she had come back home with new injuries. They had consoled her when she had been feeling lonely and pitiful. Now she was brought back to life, but she still couldn't leave her past comrades behind. Somehow, along the way, she had become addicted.

She hoped for the position of class' library representative, but that was already taken. No surprise here, she transferred a month after the school start. Of course every position was taken. She will have to try next year. She could bear with it, for now.

"Good morning," she greeted the librarian. He was really nice, but, well... gay. Not that Kanon minded. The reason this is being mentioned is... the other thing Kanon had to bear with.

The Echizen kid was a library representative for his class. And being as pretty (because you can't really cal him "handsome" yet) as he was, the librarian forgot about the age gap between them and developed a crush on him. That was what was so disturbing... The fact that he was a representative was a big surprise to Kanon. She thought he was chosen by classmates, but it seemed he really took great interest in books. He spent a lot of time in the Book Oasis. He also helped Kanon with cleaning (yes, she proposed she could do the cleaning, if she could have the access to all books and the key; librarian agreed). Of course, with Kanon's clumsiness he had to amend almost every task she did... But even though he was always complaining, she could tell he didn't really mind or preferred that instead of dealing with a pissed Fuji, Kanon was his protégée after all.

"So, what were you doing this morning with Fuji Syuusuke?" Turquoise eyes were looking into hers with such intensity that she forgot her tongue for a moment.

Ah, yet another surprise. Little ojō-sama was part of the library representatives, also. She didn't seem as acquainted with the library and the books as Ryoma, leaving the impression of joining just recently. Kanon didn't know the details and never asked anything. Her relationship with the proud (_very_ proud; she could easily match Echizen), quiet (not in a shy way like Kanon) and secretive girl was too fragile. But she cherished whatever moment she could spend with the first year. From what Kanon had gathered, Kai Sayuki lived only with her mother and was actually a half (meaning half-Japanese, half-something else. Kanon found it strange she didn't know your own father's nationality, but didn't press).

She didn't have the best opinions of boys, treating them like toys she could pass her time with. The only man worth of her attention was Echizen Ryoma, at least for now. Kanon wasn't sure whether she considered him this-month's-prey or whether she was serious. Her affection was still intact, buy that may have had something to do with Ryoma's indifference to her – he didn't exactly reject her, but he didn't court her, either. Sayuki-chan (as she let herself be called that by Kanon and Kanon only) didn't have any female friends apart from Kanon. She usually meant the other thing than she said – for example, when she was asking about Kanon's school life, he excuse was - "I just wanted to gossip, that's all!" and when she really wanted to gossip, she said "I was just curious as how you manage!".

Because she didn't have any real friends before, she couldn't live with the school life others had – because she never knew what was happening and with whom. Kanon often wondered how she could live without the gossips the younger girl liked to hear so much from her. She would often talk about unnecessary thing and never about herself especially not about her family.

Kanon still couldn't believe that she owed the Echizen kid, the scary, dangerous and utterly annoying (from the first meeting) cute-and-cool Boy Wonder of the school. Yet she did, because if she didn't know him, she wouldn't have known anybody in the library. But Echizen was familiar to her, so she had spent the time in the library with him. And if she hadn't, then she wouldn't have met Sayuki-chan (who wanted to be close to Ryoma) and wouldn't have made friends with her. Since Sayuki didn't want to befriend anyone except Ryoma, she had had to bear with Kanon's presence also – because she wouldn't leave the only person she knew there. And though the younger girl had always been cold and unapproachable, both girls learned to cherish each other's presence.

"So? Care to tell me? Hm?" Sayuki's face zoomed in front of Kanon's.

"I-It's nothing..." she sweat dropped, hoping the other would just let it go. Even though she knew she wouldn't.

"Nothing?" Sayuki's face was even closer. "But I'm pretty sure you two were on cloud nine."

"I don't know what you are talking about..."

"Oh really? Fine then. Ryoma said he saw you and Fuji Syuusuke walking together to school."

"Ah, I met him and Kikumaru Eiji-senpai on the way," Kanon tried to explain, hoping her face wasn't as red as she thought it was.

"But there was no Kikumaru Eiji with you two! So spill it. What's going on between you and the tensai?" Sayuki's face was so close to Kanon and she looked so scary...

The door to the library opened, revealing the one and only Fuji Syuusuke.

"Well, well, well, speak of the devil and he appears," murmured Sayuki, trying to hide how much she enjoyed this situation.

_'He came at the worst time possible! Now Sayuki-chan won't leave me alone!' _Kanon shed imaginary tears of doom.

"Takahashi-san, there you are." There was something off about his smile, noticed Kanon. She thought she saw a vein on his forehead, but it disappeared so quickly that she wasn't sure if it even _was _there. "I was looking for you."

"I wonder why?" murmured Sayuki to herself, trying to fight off a sly grin.

"Good morning, senpai," beamed Kanon. Vein or not, it was Fuji-senpai! Her favorite **girl** friend!

"I was disappointed when I didn't see you in your classroom." _Now,_ Kanon could see it. Her eye was twitching, she was mad! No, it was even worse – Fuji-senpai was pissed off!

"I-I see..." laughed Kanon sheepishly.

"Why don't you come eat with me and the rest lunch?"

_'Be eaten by an overly-curious Sayuki-chan, or be eaten by a pissed Fuji-senpai...? Not much of a choice I have, don't I?'_

"Sure, why not!"

Poor Kanon, if she knew Fuji a little bit better, or at least a little bit more about his sadistic side, she would have chosen Sayuki. The walk to the cafeteria was awkward. Kanon felt a very intimidating, a very evil, a very Fuji-senpai-like aura on her right side. She wanted to cry. In the cafeteria with other Regulars it wasn't any better, too.

"Why don't you eat these rolls?" Fuji-senpai passed two suspiciously looking rolls on her plate. She stared at them for a moment.

"Fuji-senpai," she whispered, because she was too frightened her prediction will be true to speak normally, "aren't those wasabi flavored rolls?"

"Yes, they are my favorite actually."

Before, Kanon wanted to politely decline the offer, but now...

"You will eat them, right? After I graciously offered them to you, my favorite rolls. You will eat them, right?" And there it was, his sadistic smile.

"Yes," sniffed Kanon, praying to God for helping her live through the torture.

Let's just say, the prayers didn't help.

* * *

Eventually, Kanon woke up and Syuusuke-senpai smiled at her.

"They were great, weren't they?" His dangerous smile didn't leave much to be told; only one answer will be accepted.

"Yes..."

"Well then, why don't you have more?" he beamed at her, passing more rolls at her plate.

_'Never, ever again will I eat wasabi flavored food.'_

_'And never, ever will I leave the classroom without Fuji-senpai knowing.'_

Because Fuji owned you, Kanon, along with every second of your life and every bit of your willpower.


	10. Tea: What It Means To Be Honest

Author Note

I'm late again. Very late, this time. But it's my last year in school and it's hard, I also have to write an essay in psychology for a competition and went down with the flu. Sorry...

This chapter is not that funny, actually. I'm planning on making the next one more light!

And please send some flowers to AquaJet, she's awsome.

* * *

**Being Feminine**

**Chapter 10**

"I will not, and I repeat, will _not_ put up with this kind of behaviour when I have a guest!" Kanon was close to shouting and even closer to tears of frustration.

"It's sad you say that only when the said guest is someone important to you," murmured mother from behind the newspaper.

Father and daughter glared at her in surprising unison.

"If you're quite finished acting like a spoiled five years old, I would like you to apologise to your mother. This is not how I raised you!" thundered Father.

Kanon muttered an apology under her nose, feeling heat creeping onto her cheeks. What humiliation!

"Now that everything is all right, I will go and make some tea. Why don't you show your guest your room, sweetie?" beamed Father and without a second glance at his daughter went to the kitchen.

* * *

_'How did I get myself into such situation?'_ He knew what it was, his stupidity. Kanon wasn't too fond of _wasabi_ and the school nurse decided that since it was his fault for making her sick, he should take her home. To him, she looked just fine, more than fine actually.

Syuusuke watched with amusement, amazement and something akin to anxiety how Kanon bickered with her parents... and what parents they were! Totally different from his own or even any other family he knew. There was no other pair quite like Mr. and Mrs. Takahashi. He was surprised how they switched roles – father became mother and mother became father.

But that wasn't the end of surprises, because Kanon herself caused him to blink. That said something, since Fuji wasn't somebody who showed emotions outwardly, not usually. Kanon was... well, he suspected split personality for a moment, it was like she changed into someone else. She became more open and relaxed. She laughed more, smiled more, frowned more, shouted more and generally expressed her own opinion more often.

Even though he was greeted very warmly by the family and – dared he say it – Kanon's parents were excited to meet him (mumbling incoherently about first male in the house or something like that), Syuusuke was worried. They were his girl's parents. Lenient or not, he could see they cared greatly about their daughter's welfare and would interfere if they thought him to be dangerous to her.

His musings were interrupted by Nagoya Girl (copyright by Kikumaru Eiji, of course, who else?), who dragged him upstairs to what appeared to be her room. All the while she was muttering softly to herself. She seated him on the bed and left to collect tea. Syuusuke looked around. The wall opposite the bed was covered with a painting of five girls. One resembled greatly Kanon and he supposed the rest were her friends.

"Um... I brought the tea, sempai..." smiled Kanon shyly, closing the door with her cat-slipper foot.

"Thank you," replied Fuji, observing a big pile (of what appeared to be rubbish) that was scattered on the desk. Kanon followed his sight and blushed heavily.

"That is not rubbish, no matter how it looks! I just don't like cleaning and nothing has an ordered place, or rather, everything has a place on my desk, but it's not rubbish, I'm still using every one of them, some more rarely, but..." she stopped, seeing Fuji's raised hand.

"I really don't mind," he chuckled. "But... there is one thing that bothers me..."

He sipped on his tea, watching how Kanon's features changed into one of confusion.

"Yes?" she pushed him when the silence was too much to take.

"You're different."

"Eh?"

"Yes, pretty much like completely another person," Syuusuke continued as if she never interrupted. "At school you're more... reserved. You smile when it's expected of you, laugh when others do. You don't talk much, almost nobody notices you on the corridors. You claim you want to make friends but you don't let people get to know you better, always keeping others at a distance. Here, with your parents, you don't act. You're yourself." He couldn't stop now, even though he felt he was pushing it too far.

He knew he was raising his voice and that he opened his eyes, dropping the mask of indifference, showing emotions that shouldn't have found their way into his tone of voice, onto his face. He said part A and it was time to say part B if he wanted their relationship be that of friends - friends who don't hide behind another personality. "Why can't you be that way when you're with me? Aren't we friends?"

Kanon flinched, noticing that her whole body was shaking and she couldn't control it. _'What is sempai talking about? Was he lying to me, about being friends? Did he want...something more?'_ She felt betrayed, but didn't stop Syuusuke from speaking.

"How can we be friends if you can't be relaxed, if you can't accept me for who I am, pretending I'm a girl – insulting me in the most humiliating way that's possible – you _pretending_ to be somebody else than you are?" he stopped to catch some breath and that was when he noticed how close they were.

He practically pinned her to the wall, breathing hard, shooting lightning from eyes, which were suspiciously bright and sparkling. Kanon herself was crying and that was what brought him to his senses.

_'Goodness – I frightened her.'_ He wanted to laugh, but restrained from doing so. God knows if it wouldn't scare her even more. He laughed mentally, but it came rather bitterly. _'What the hell? I'm the one who was deceived.'_ He was the victim, so why did he feel like the worst man? Why was she crying?

_'She's confusing or rather very naive and dense.'_ he sighed. Syuusuke looked at the petite girl in front of him, only then releasing her. She was looking at him with weird expression on her face, but he had experience with reading people. It was what made it so easy for him to manipulate others. She was still scared, but also reflexive and… shocked.

Fuji supposed he himself was surprised by his outburst, but it was also sure to happen sooner or later. Seeing her so different, so_real_, and the realisation that he could never make her be just Kanon and not some shadow of her personality made him feel more depressed that he expected. He thought he had her solved and it was a blow to his ego to know she outsmarted him – though not on purpose.

He was also hurt that she didn't trust him enough, that she didn't feel safe enough with him. He swore to himself all those years ago when Yuuta was bullied that he would protect those he considered important – and Kanon was one of those people. To realize _she_ didn't think him capable of protecting her was too much. It made him wonder what others thought of him and he was almost angry of thinking about it.

He cleared his throat to ease the silence and give Kanon a signal to show he was safe.

"I'm not sorry for saying all this... but I hadn't intended to frighten you. I just wanted to clarify some things between us if you want to continue with our friendship." He said.

"No... I..." Kanon was torn. There were too many things she wanted to say, too many things that had to be said. "I'm sorry, too. I didn't realize before that I was acting so much different at school. I guess it's just hard for me to... open up." She swallowed and forced the words out of her mouth. "It's become a habit, I think... I'm really sorry. I wasn't mistaking you for a girl consciously-"

At this, he felt in his chest – his heart – a pang. It hurt more to know it was unconscious than if she would do it on purpose.

"-but it enabled me to be more comfortable. I promise I will try to change my view, to see you for who you are." She paused to look at him and hardened her face. "But I don't know if I will ever be able to act like I do around my parents and my friends with you and your friends."

"I see. I guess I shouldn't take anything for granted," Syuusuke couldn't help the way his voice turned slightly cold. His eyes were closed and he put back on his smile.

He wouldn't listen to it any more. He had to get out of here, and quick.

"Thank you for the tea." He waved a Kanon and with his fake acting, smiled decently.

Then he left.

* * *

It was hard to understand for Syuusuke. How could she still want to be friends while not being herself? How could she deceive him, his friends? He laughed out loud and hard. It was low, almost a growl of a hurt animal. His friends and her friends; she drew the line between them and was slowly building a wall. Fuji knew, when she mentioned friends, she meant the ones she had left in Nagoya. He could understand that, but then she closed herself from the rest of the world. She listened to him, and probably thought she understood, but her reply suggested she didn't, at all.

_'How will I break it to them?'_ He couldn't tell the Regulars, not after the obvious effort they made to welcome Kanon into their group. On the other hand, he realized it wasn't completely her fault.  
It was most probably self defence. One didn't come out of bullying without being at least a little psychically damaged. He was sure, though, that if she wanted to be friends, she will have to make some effort. Her mask could also be disastrous later in the future, when she was an adult. If she didn't come to terms with the fact she didn't have the best childhood, if she didn't come out of her shell, it will come back to bite her, later. But he also knew that he was involved too much. He couldn't give up her now. He would make her see sense in his words.

He wanted to sleep. Fate was such a bitch – she favoured him over others for all those years and now she turned her back to him. Why did he have to pay for things some scum did? He wasn't one for physical violence, but he would gladly let them have a bit of their own medicine.

Syuusuke couldn't open the door to his house. He looked down to see the cause and saw his hands shaking so much he couldn't fit the key. He needed someone, anyone... He dialled the number and waited for him to answer.

"Echizen...? Can you meet me at the school courts? Bring your racket. You better be in fine shape, I need a _good_ game."

* * *

He left.

Kanon didn't understand why. She said she will try to see sempai as a boy, why was he so mad, then? It wasn't because she wasn't sure she could be more herself, right? After all, she would _try._ It wasn't her fault; it was ingrained in her to be nobody around others. They wouldn't notice her, so they wouldn't harm her. It wasn't her fault.

_'But you could have made a difference if you_ _wanted_ _to'_ insisted a voice in her head. _'You said you will try, but those were just empty words, weren't they?'_

"Shut up," she whispered. "Shut up!" Kanon covered her ears with a pillow and curled herself on her bed.

"Not my fault."

"Not!"

"I _do_ try."

"I do."

"Not my fault..."

She tried to convince herself.

* * *

The sound of the phone ringing woke her up. Kanon groggily sat up and looked around the room dazedly, catching her reflection in the mirror. She looked awful, with red, puffy eyes and mouth that wouldn't turn upwards in a smile no matter how much she tried.

The ringtone got louder with every second so she picked it up.

"Hello?" Her voice was hoarse and cracked at the end.

"Kanon...?" It was Aoi-san. "Is that you...? Because if it is, you sound awful..."

"Thank you. It reflects my mood, as well."

"It isn't because of our little adventure in few minutes, is it?" she sighed.

"No, no. But I still think we should pass. It's _trespassing_, you know?!"

"Yeah, whatever."

"You, Tokyo people, have no sense of what is proper." groaned Kanon. She blinked. "Wait. Did you say 'in few minutes'?"

"Yes, I did. Why did you think I would be calling you at this hour? By the way, were you skipping after lunch?"

"No. I had a run in with _wasabi_ and was excused by nurse."

"Ah. Fuji Syuusuke, hmm...? You must be very fond of him. I would have killed anyone trying to feed me _wasabi_, let alone accomplishing it."

"I have no doubt," Kanon smiled slightly.

"Let's meet at the front gate of the park next to the school at nine. And, please, wear black – we're going undercover, after all," Aoi-san grinned and through the receiver Kanon could hear her rubbing her hands gleefully.

"You're enjoying this way too much," said Kanon grimly.

"I wouldn't – not to this extent – if you weren't so against it. Bye!"

"Goodbye," replied Kanon to the _beep_-ing sound in the receiver.

She stared at the wall, hard. After a quick glance at the clock, she told herself to get it together, but she wasn't sure if it meant the trespassing or one Fuji Syuusuke.

* * *

"Here, Kanon!" waved at her Aoi-san. She was clothed in what would anybody name as film based agent. Emphasized, film based.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Kanon quietly. "I think anyone could see that we're up to no good."

"Nonsense!" she brushed aside Kanon's concern. "Let's go!"

And without further ado, she turned her back to Nagoya Girl and walked in direction of school. Once they were at the entrance, they stopped. The gate was closed.

"So, what do we do now?" Kanon jerked the end of her sleeve.

"Um... I'm... not too sure..." said Aoi-san sheepishly.

Kanon looked at her incredulously.

"I thought you had everything already planned out?!"

"Why would I? You have to put in some effort, too" she sniffed. "Well, I suppose we could just go over the fence."

"What...!?" Kanon whispered frantically, words _'If you want then go ahead but leave me out of this,'_ going over her head. She stopped abruptly. She was pushing herself to the other side of the wall; she was putting a mask on once again. Now would be a good time to start anew, to try, like she promised. She opened her mouth to properly berate Aoi-san, like she wanted to do for a long time now.

"Well, hurry up! We don't have all night!" Too late; she was already on school grounds and Kanon had no choice but to shut her mouth so tightly it hurt and comply.  
She lost her chance and wasn't keen on making another one. Having a mask was good. It hid her from potential danger. She wasn't strong enough to let her defences fall just for one person who found out about the 'real' her.  
It didn't stop her from feeling guilty for playing Aoi-san false like that and all others, who were nothing but kind to her, and…Fuji-sempai. Surely, for him, she could... She could be more herself - nothing much, just small things, to take it slowly. She didn't want to lose him. That much she knew. She liked her new life, but was it really okay to show them real Kanon? Won't they reject her? Logic said, 'They won't.' Her heart said, 'They won't.' But something inside her was still scared and made it hard for her to breathe. She also realized there was probably more to her feelings concerning Syuusuke-sempai, but it would have to wait. Things between them were too complicated right now. But she would fix it, as soon as she will see him.  
Kanon walked into something warm and soft, which she recognized as her fellow adventurer.

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly, but inside she was screaming bloody murder that she knew they shouldn't be doing that and now it was proven right.

"Err... I think I forgot it will be dark inside the school at night."

"Excuse me?" She wanted to shake Aoi so much...

"You didn't bring the torch by chance, did you?"

"No, by chance somebody else told me I shouldn't bring it as to not blow our cover." She was still smiling, but her facial muscles won't hold much longer. "Maybe we should go back?" she suggested hopefully, praying to all deities (because praying to God didn't seem to work for the past few weeks)...

"No!"

…who apparently hated her with a passion, which she was grateful to reciprocate as much as she wanted to kill Aoi.

"I think I hear footsteps," murmured hesitatingly the future victim.

"No wonder, your cry must have woken up the dead."

"What dead?" Aoi turned white.

"What are you doing here?"

Great, they wasted the time that should have been used to run away bickering. Surprisingly, the voice was familiar, and Kanon turned to see the person she wanted not to meet so soon – she was too much a mess right now – which was Fuji Syuusuke.


End file.
